Pleasantview: Season 1
by Jyoti
Summary: A drama series about the lives of sims in Pleasantview. Romance, magic, tragedy, and the supernatural!
1. Episode 1

[Hello :) This is a new story I thought of while playing the Sims. It pretty much follows what happened in my game while I was playing, but with a few twist. It's not a sequel to anything, just some new idea that came to me. I hope you enjoy and I'm treating this story like a show so my chapters are going to be episodes and I'll have little summaries for the show. Alright, shutting up now :)]

**Join our Pleasantview sims as they go through their everyday life. **

**Weddings and Smiles: Episode 1**

Darren made his way to the club after a long day of trying to sell paintings. It was already 9 o'clock so it was dark out. He only earned himself 50 simelions and he was rather disappointed in himself. He didn't know what else to do. The upbeat music snapped him out of his thoughts. He glanced over at Nina and Dina, who were dancing with some random Sims. He let out a laugh as one of them stepped on Dina's toe, and she yelled at him.

He took a seat and eyed the bartender, "let me have two drinks...poured please."

The bartender smiled at him, "coming right up sir."

As the music continued to play, he looked up at the TV right above the cabinets of the bar. A new episode of SBN was on, and Darren watched intently, despite all the drama it caused (always talking about the latest scandals and stuff), it was actually pretty interesting to watch.

_Mary: SBN is bringing some of Pleasantviews hottest topics to you today! Two days ago, a fireman saved none other than Jennifer Burb, best selling novelist in Pleasantview. She said that she is very thankful for that and she will NEVER try to cook Basked Alaska again._

_Benjamin: Well I sure hope not, we don't want her burning down the whole house!- he laughed- Our next topic, has to do with Bigfoot. Friend or foe? In about 20 minutes we will introduce the man who has supposedly witnessed Big Foot in action! _

_Mary: Now let's go to what was voted the Hottest Topic of the Week. It's got all the magazines buzzing! Drum roll please- she laughed- The newly weds, Don and Cassandra Goth! It's been noted that they got married just one day ago. They planned to do it in secret, when some paparazzi caught them action. We actually have them here today. Let's bring out my best friend Cassandra, and her new husband, Don! _

Darren looked away, his heart was hurting right now. He was always in love with Cassandra, ever since the first day he met her in the park. She was reading to some kids and it reminded him so much of his first wife...Darleen. He couldn't believe that they were married right now! The bartender came with his drinks and he gulped them down like it was water. He was already feeling himself getting buzzed but he didn't care at that point. He made his way out of the club and into his car, driving off to a place that strangely made him feel calm, the graveyard.

The drive was only 15 minutes. He parked his car and got out rather quickly, searching for Darleen's grave. He began to cry hysterically, but he wasn't sure if it was because he was so hurt, or if the alcohol was making him emotional.

"Darleen...you told me to give love a shot again, but all I did was hurt myself. I wish I could just die with you. I miss you," he said, staring at her graveyard. The graveyard began to shake and all of the sudden, there was Darleen's ghostly figure!

She yawned, and stretched out her arms, "Darren! I was sleeping, don't you know not to come at this time by now?"

"Sorry," he mumbled, and Darleen gave him a sad smile, "Sorry. You know I always get a little grumpy when I'm 'woken from my slumber...How are you holding up? A little ghost told me that Cassandra got married," she said in a soft tone.

"I'm fine...I don't need her anyway. And how did a ghost find out?" Darren asked, staring at her curiously.

Darleen laughed, "Darren, down here in the world of the dead, we find out everything."

He smiled at her.

Darleen sighed, "Darren, you're going to find a girl that will make your heart happy...even more happy than when you were with me."

"How do you know?" Darren asked her.

"Some things I just know. Take care my love," and with that, she vanished.

Crunch!

Darren heard a leaf crunch and he turned quickly, to see who it was. Maybe it was just a ghost. That wouldn't be the worst thing. Nevertheless although being with Darleen here calmed him down, it still gave him an eerie feeling to see other ghosts.

He saw a white figure began to walk toward him and he wasn't sure what to do. He noticed the figure stop walking, and fall down to it's knees. _What kind of_ _ghost does that?_ Then he heard the female voice began to cry he came to realization.

That was no ghost, it was Brandi, coming to grieve again for her lost husband, Skipp. Darren truly felt sorry for her, he understood exactly what she was going through. He felt a strange urge to go talk to her, so he did.

"Brandi?" he said, and Brandi turned to look at him, wiping her tears slowly.

"Oh, hi Darren," she greeted him. Darren and Brandi weren't exactly close friends. In fact, they weren't really friends at all. They had talked a few times, but that was all.

"Are you ok?" he asked, and Brandi shook her head, "I-I don't think I'll ever be ok...I really miss him," she turned and faced the grave again.

"I know just how you feel...I miss Darleen all the time, but I know that she just wants me to move on and be happy," he said, and Brandi nodded. They could both smell the alcohol on their breath, they didn't need to ask if they had been drinking or not, they just knew.

"How do you deal with it?" Brandi asked him.

He sighed, "I just keep telling myself that one day I'll find another love. Someone who cares about me...someone who understands me."

They stared at each other for a long time, both hearts racing almost too quickly. They leaned into to each other, closing the gap between the two of them and they locked lips. She wrapped her arm around his neck and he held her waist. They pressed their bodies close together, but as soon as they started, they stopped, both shocked with their actions.

"Um, I'm going to go," Brandi said rather quickly.

"It's probably best that I go too," he said, making his way to his own car.

* * *

Angela was downstairs eating a slice of pizza when the phone rang. Both Angela and Lilith ran to get the phone.

"Move loser!" Lilith hissed.

"You first ugly!" Angela argued back.

"Watch it with the names!" their father groaned.

_Gees, what it would it take for those two to just get along?_

Lilith pushed her out of the way and grabbed the phone. She was hoping that she would get a call from her boyfriend Dirk. She hadn't talk to him in what seemed like weeks.

"Hello," she said, sounding casual.

"Hello is Angela Pleasant there?" someone replied, and Lilith sighed. She hated that 8 out of 10 times, the phone was always for her. It was either one of her little friends, or a relative. Why didn't people call for her? Oh right because she was a 'trouble maker'.

"Here bubble butt. I'm going upstairs," Lilith rolled her eyes, then handed her the phone.

Angela smirked and politely said, "Thank you." She grabbed the phone and said, "Hello...yes this is Angela, how may I help you?"

"Hello Angela, we are happy to announce that you were one of the 10 contestants who were called back to play a lead role on Sim Station Dance!" the lady said, and Angela squealed so loud that she probably irritated the neighbors.

"Thank you so much!" she said.

"No problem. You will perform at a club called P.U.R.E. I'm sure you've heard of it, it's downtown. I hope to see you there at 4:30 tomorrow. Don't be late, or your out." the lady said, then hung up.

Angela smiled proudly, "Mom! Dad! I have great news! I might have a chance to be on Sim Station Dance! Eeek!"

Her mom and dad laughed, "that's great honey."

_Eh, not my best work but oh well._

_Stay tuned for episode 2: Secrets & Awkwardness _


	2. Episode 2

**Dirk's hiding a big secret from Lilith! Meanwhile, Darren is invited to Cassandra's official wedding party. **

**Secrets and Awkwardness: Episode 2**

_One week later_

It was a beautiful Saturday afternoon. The sun shined brightly on the Pleasant household. Lilith lay awake in her bed; she couldn't believe that today was her 6 month anniversary. It seemed like they had barely started going out. She got up from the bed and started picking out an outfit to wear when someone knocked on her door.

"Go away!" she yelled in a lazy tone.

The door opened anyway, "Lilith! Where did you put my curling iron!"

Lilith sighed, her sister could be such a pest sometimes, "I don't know, check under my bed or something."

Angela got down on her knees and checked under the bed, "Aha! There it is!" She grabbed the curling iron and wiped some of the dust off of it, "Good as new." She was about to leave her sisters room when she noticed her twirling around in a black dress, "Going on a date with Dirk?" she said in a taunting voice.

"Why are you still here?" Lilith hissed.

"Oh don't be such a grouch." She reached for the door knob but stopped and turned toward Lilith, a little smile on her face, "And Lilith? If I were you, I would go with the black flats, you look really nice in them."

Lilith's face flushed, "Uh yeah, thanks..."

"No problem." Angela shrugged, and then she left the room.

* * *

Darren poured himself some coffee. Another day, another opportunity to sell some paintings. But what was he missing in his paintings? He didn't understand. As he sipped on his coffee he heard the sound of light footsteps coming down the steps. It was Dirk.

"Good morning kiddo. Sleep well?" Darren asked, staring at Dirk with his blood shot eyes. Although Dirk smiled he could tell that something was bothering him.

"What's wrong?" Darren asked him.

Dirk shook his head, "It's nothing..."

"Mhm, well whenever you want to talk," he said, staring at him as if he were up to something. Dirk sighed then made his way outside. The beaming sun hit him and he smiled. The taxi had already been called so he made his way in. After about five minutes, he arrived at Lilith's house. The taxi man honked his horn and Lilith made her way out of the house. She hopped in the cab and gave Dirk a kiss.

"Hey babe," she smiled.

Dirk smiled at her, "Hey. So where do you want to go today?"

"Hm, how about we head downtown and see what we can find?" she smiled. She couldn't help it. She was so happy to be with Dirk. And today was the day that she would confess her love to him.

* * *

Darren was about to go sell some paintings when the phone rang. He answered it with a, "Hello?"

"Darren! Hey!" he heard Cassandra say, and his heart instantly fluttered. Sure he knew that he could never be with her, but he couldn't help that there would always be strong feelings there.

"H-Hey, what's up? I heard you- he grimaced- got married to Don...congrats."

"Thanks Darren. You know, I'm throwing an official wedding party. It's going to be next week, tell me you'll come?" she said in a bit of a suggestive tone.

Darren sighed, "I don't know...I have a lot of work to do and-"

"Aw, come on! I need my best friend there," she laughed.

And Darren just couldn't resist, "Alright, sure!"

When he hung up he shook his head. What had he just got himself into? He readjusted his bag of paint brushes, and made his way out into Pleasantview, ready for another day of work.

* * *

"Wow...this place looks great Dirk," Lilith said as the waiter seated them. They were at one-twenty-five cafe and although Lilith had been to much finer restaurants, she was happy to be with her boyfriend. He was the only one who didn't look at her like she was some type of criminal.

They ordered some food and talked about pointless things.

"So you got onto the basketball team?" Lilith asked, and Dirk nodded, "Yeah...um, speaking of that. We need to talk."

"Mmm, this baked Alaska is so good. Remind me to come here again. I would try and make it at home but you heard what happened to Jennifer right?" Lilith said, giggling a little.

Dirk let out a dry laugh, "Yeah, I heard. It's all over SBN."

"I know right! Which reminds me, how is your dad holding up? I could tell he loved Cassandra, and I'm sure he already knows that Cassandra and Don are married," Lilith said, taking another bite of her baked Alaska.

"I don't know, it's kind of hard to tell the kind of emotions he's feeling. He was acting pretty strange last week," Dirk said in a matter-of-fact tone. He couldn't point his finger on it, his dad was glowing yet, he seemed sad at the same time. Was that even possible?

"Oh, I see. Well he can find another girl anyway," Lilith said bluntly.

"Lilith, we really need to talk," Dirk said with pleading eyes.

"Ok, shoot," Lilith said, putting her fork down.

How was he supposed to come out and say that he wanted to take a break? He opened his mouth but no words came out, "Um...you see I-"

But Lilith interrupted him, "Dirk! I know exactly where you're going with this and trust me, the feeling is mutual."

Dirk felt a bit offended, so Lilith wanted to take a break from him too? But maybe it was for the best, that way nobody got hurt. It's not that he didn't care a lot for Lilith, he did. It was just that Dirk was going to go off to college early, and he didn't want to be held back. Lilith wanted to get a common job, and as selfish as it sounded, Dirk didn't want to be dragged down with her.

"Dirk, I love you too," she smiled, and then leaned over to kiss him. He let her kiss him, returning the kiss back, until they were in a full out make-out session. He couldn't collect his thoughts until they pulled away. What just happened?

* * *

Darren walked through many community lots until he reached the local mall.

"Paintings for sell! 25 simelions a piece!" Darren shouted. Was the price too high? He shook that thought out of his head, if anything it was too low. He thought if he lowered the price then more people would come but obviously he was wrong.

He continued to shout when he noticed Brandi coming his way. He immediately looked toward the ground as she passed by. She was about to head inside when she did a double glance, "Darren?"

Darren looked up and gave her a small smile, "Uh hey Brandi. What are you doing here?"

She laughed, "It's a mall, people usually go here to buy clothes."

Darren mentally face palmed himself for asking such a stupid question, "Right, sorry!"

She chuckled, "It's ok. So um, about the kiss," she wanted to tell him that she didn't regret it. Yes, she had her doubts, but she felt something, and she knew he did too.

"Yeah, it's probably best to forget about it," Darren said shyly, and Brandi was crushed, "Oh um, yeah, right...that would be best."

An awkward silence filled the air until Brandi started to talk again, "Well um, I have to go get some clothes for my child. I'll see you around Darren," and with that she left.

Something screamed inside Darren's head to chase after her. To say that he wanted to get to know her. But it was too late for that. Instead he just continued trying to sell paintings.

_Hope you enjoyed_

_Stay tuned for the next episode: Magic Potions & Lost Connection _


	3. Episode 3

**Mortimer hasn't lost hope in finding Bella, although he says he's in love with Dina. And Angela and Dustin have a talk that could end their relationship for good. **

**Magic Potions and Lost Connection: Episode 3**

_The Next Day_

_"Mortimer, do you think we'll last?" Bella asked, a small smile on her face. They were watching the stars late at night, something they had grown fond of._

_"Of course my love," he replied._

_"Even when my face begins to get wrinkles?" she questioned._

_"Even then," he laughed, then kissed her hair._

_"Even when the Grim Reaper comes to get us?" she said, and Mortimer gave her a puzzled look, "We're too young to think of the Grim Reaper Bel. But I can assure you, even then I will be with you. And I'll make sure that we get our graves right next to each other, so that we can talk in the afterlife," he smiled._

_"...I love you Morty," she said, looking straight into his eyes. You could sense that her words were true, yet their was still a bit of fear in there. She didn't want to be hurt no, not again._

_"I love you too Bel," he smiled, giving her a chaste kiss that he would never forget._

"Daddy! Cassandra's calling you. She wants to go over wedding plans...again," Alexander rolled his eyes at the thought of it. Lately Cassandra had been unlike herself. Usually she was independent, and into things like books, and science. But ever since the wedding all she ever talked about was her husband.

Mortimer shook the thought of Bella out of his head. He wanted to be over her but he couldn't be. All the memories they shared together. How could he forget his first love? But he had a new love now didn't he?

Dina. Dina Catiline. He wasn't sure what he loved about her. Maybe it was the physical aspect, but Mortimer was never one to pay too much attention to something like that, even in his teen years. He couldn't place a finger on it. Perhaps it was the fact that she was always so nice to him. Everyone said that she was after his money, and in a way Mortimer knew this, but he wouldn't bring himself to believe it.

"Dad? You ok?" his son waved a hand in front of his face.

He straightened his posture, forcing himself to not think about relationships. He smiled at his son, "Cassandra's just excited that she's finally found a sim to settle down with. Although I don't agree with the relationship, I have to accept it. Now, why don't you go hang out with a friend today? I'll suffer her never ending talk of wedding plans on my own."

Alexander hugged his dad, "Thanks dad! You're the best! I'll be home in an hour!"

"Wait, where exactly will you be?" Mortimer asked Although Plesantview wasn't too much of a dangerous neighborhood, he still wanted to ensure his sons safety.

"I'm going over to the Burb household. Lucy wants to learn how to play chess," he said, and Mortimer smiled, although he wasn't too close to the Burb family, they seemed like really good people.

"Alright kiddo," he said, waving his son off.

* * *

"So he said he loved you?" Angela asked in an eager tone.

Lilith nodded, she wasn't even sure how they ended up talking, but she needed to spill the beans to someone, and she didn't really have any friends at school.

"Eeek! That's so exciting! I wish I had a relationship like yours," Angela sighed dreamily.

"What about Dustin?" Lilith asked. Dustin and Angela had only been going out for a few months but they were childhood friends so they were always super close.

Angela let out a sigh, "I don't know. Lately he's been acting really, distant. He barely even talks to me anymore."

"So call him," Lilith suggested.

After thinking about it, Angela smiled, "You know what? Maybe I will, thanks Lilith...strangely you gave good advice. And in return, I'll help you get rid of all your ugly clothing!"

Lilith rolled her eyes, "Just because it's not pink or sparkly, doesn't mean it's ugly."

"Yeah whatever, I'm going to call my boyfriend," Angela said, skipping off.

* * *

"So I'm thinking of having some red roses on the left and then- she stopped in mid-sentence- DAD! Are you even paying attention!" Cassandra said, getting a little bit aggravated. This was the fifth time that her father had dozed off on her.

Maybe she was being a little too obsessive over her official wedding, but she wanted everything to be perfect. Before she met Don, she never even thought once of boys. But Don was different. She knew that he had been with a lot of girls but she trusted him with her life and she was convinced that she could change him.

"I'm sorry honey. You were talking about red roses right?" her father asked, and Cassandra rolled her eyes, "Why don't we go ahead and take a break dad? I'm sure you're very tired."

"Yeah, I better get up to my room. We'll call a decorator first thing tomorrow," he said, forcing a smile onto his face.

Cassandra nodded, "Alright."

She looked around, there was nothing much for her to do. She decided to ring Don. Even though they were technically married, considering the 'pastor' was dressed up as Elvis, they still hadn't gotten into actually living together.

"Hello, Don is not here at the moment. Please leave a message, after the tone," The voice mail spoke. Cassandra almost thought the voice was a bit strange, but she shrugged her shoulders.

"Hey babe, it's Cassandra but you already knew that. Call me back, maybe you could stay over at my place tonight?" she suggested, and then hung up.

A minute later her phone rang, but it wasn't Don. It was just her best friend Mary-Sue calling to ask about what foods she should bring to the wedding.

* * *

Dina giggled as she hung the phone up, "Man I can't believe she couldn't tell that it was me!"

Don let out a small laugh, "Well you two don't really talk."

"Good thing too, otherwise she might find out about us," Dina smiled as she gave him a kiss on the lips.

Don kissed her back, but pulled away rather quickly when they were done. Dina raised an eyebrow at him, "Something wrong?"

Don shook his head. He couldn't tell her that he was starting to feel guilty about this entire marriage. He knew that Cassandra deserved happiness, and if Bella were here...he shuddered at the thought of Cassandra's mother. He couldn't think of her right now.

"Look, I know you're starting to feel bad for Cassandra but you need to let that go. We both need money, and this is the only way. Don't blow it," Dina said in a warning tone, "Now, I'm going to go ahead and get home so I can call Mortimer, and you should go over to Cassandra's house tonight. You guys need to talk wedding details," She winked, then skipped off.

When the door closed Don let out a sigh. He grabbed a can of beer from the fridge and continued to think about the situation. What was he going to do now?

* * *

Ring! Ring! Ring!

"Hello?" A tired voice replied.

"Dustin! Hey!" Angela said in a cheerful tone. She hadn't seen her boyfriend for weeks.

"Oh hey Angela, what's up?" he yawned.

Angela rolled her eyes at this, "Well, I was just wondering if you wanted to come over. I haven't seen you in weeks and you barely say hi at school. You are still my boyfriend right?"

"Of course babe I just, I have a lot on my mind right now alright?" he said.

"Like?" Angela pushed.

"Does it matter?"

"Well considering you haven't said a word to me lately, it matters. Did you get abducted about aliens or something?"

"Angela-"

"Or did you suddenly forget that we were dating? Seriously, what kind of stuff is going on?"

"Just stuff, gees! Why are you being like this?" he said in a defensive tone.

"Well sorry for being a concerned girlfriend! You're such a jerk Dustin!"

"Really? I'm a jerk! You know what, you wanted to know what was going on so here it goes. My mothers sick and it's affecting the baby. She almost killed herself after having some strange hallucinations and following what she thought was Skipp into a dark area downtown last night. The doctors don't know what's wrong. My grades are dropping, I've got everyone jumping down my throat and I have to find a new job soon before the repo man comes. That kind of stuff!" he yelled furiously.

"..." Angela remained silent, she couldn't believe that he had yelled at her like that, but more importantly, she couldn't believe that he kept that bottled up inside, "Dustin...why didn't you tell me any of this? We used to be so close."

You could hear him trying to stop his tears over the phone, "I'm sorry Angela...I just d-didn't wanna burden you alright? You have the perfect life, and my life just, sucks. I don't even know why you're with me. I can't take you out for dates and pay for your meal. I can't be a good boyfriend to you. Maybe it's best that I just set you free, so that you can find someone who can be a good boyfriend."

Angela couldn't believe what she was hearing, "Dustin...no. You're not setting me free. I can help you with this."

"..."

"Dustin?" she said, but he had already hung up.

* * *

Mortimer was working hard on a new potion of his. He was desperately trying to find a potion to get Bella back. Nothing seemed to work no matter how good he was with science. As he continued to work he accidentally dropped his potion.

"Just great," he muttered to himself.

He was about to go find a broom to sweep it up when he noticed the potion began to shimmer. Pretty soon it turned into a bright glowing figure.

Startled, he took a step back. The thing nearly gave him a heart-attack.

The figure turned into a full sim. She was pale white, with long white hair that reached to her waist. The makeup on her face covered most of her wrinkles and she wore a long white dress and a sparkling white hat.

"Who are you?" he said, his eyes wide.

"There's nothing to fear. I am a Good Witch, the grandest witch to be exact. You called for me, and I can sense exactly what you need. You want to find a lost loved one. Well, I can help you with that. But first, I'm going to need something to eat, I am a bit parched," she smiled.

He looked back down at his puddle of the potion. It was gone. Had his potion done this? Summoned a witch. He shrugged, he was an old man. What did he have to lose?

"Ok, I'm in...I guess." He said in a hesitant tone.

_This chapter felt really long. Was it?_

_Anyway, stay tuned for Episode 4_

_( I won't give out the titles anymore)_


	4. Episode 4

**Now or Never PT1: Episode 4**

**A/N:** So somehow while I was editing some of the chapters, I deleted this one and replaced it with the next episode. I looked through every document I saved but it wasn't there so I'm really sorry. I'm going to try my best to give a brief summary as to what was supposed to happen during this episode, but I can ensure you, that you will still be able to watch the other episodes and not be so confused. Thank you for being understanding, the summaries are below.

Cassandra & Don Scene: In Cassandra and Don's scene, Cassandra asked how Don felt about being married and she asked him to tell her the complete truth about himself. She talked to him about how a lot of people called him a player but she believed in him and that if there was anything that she needed to know he should tell her now. She then promised to forgive him regardless of what he did in the past.

Angela & Dustin: There wasn't much going on with Angela and Dustin. It was mostly Angela thinking about their possible breakup but in the next episode, there will be more of them.

Mortimer: Mortimer decides to go to Belladonna Cove with the witch to help figure out what happened to Bella. It starts a very long journey for the two of them.

Again I really apologize. The next episode will really be an episode, promise!

_So stay tuned for the next episode!_


	5. Episode 4PT2

**Angela is in love with Dustin, but will her friends convince her other wise? Dirk visits a college meets some amazing people. Don decides to give Cassandra the half truth about what happened. And Mortimer's goes on a hunt for Bella, much to Dina's despair.**

**It's Now or Never Part 2**

Don looked at Cassandra nervously. He felt his stomach churn as he stared at her with innocent eyes. How was he supposed to tell her the truth? He would never want to speak to her again if he did. And for some reason, he wanted things to work out with Cassandra, or at least he thought he did. He cleared his throat knowing she was waiting for an answer and decided to give her the half truth, something that would satisfy her enough, but not force him to talk about everything,"I don't want to hide anything from you Cassandra, so here's the truth...I'm not what everyone thinks I am. I'm not the cold, heartless player that this town sees me as and I went through a lot when I was younger."

"I was neglected when I was a kid. My dad...he left my house at the age of six and then my mom lost her job, fell into depression, and I was always left picking up the broken pieces."

Cassandra looked into his eyes and she suddenly felt sorry for him, "Don, you don't have to continue-"

"No, I want to Cassandra. I think you deserve that much. I really like you. You're the only one whose ever expected more from me than just a quick wohoo. And I wasn't always the type to just move from girl to girl. I used to be in love. I met my first love at a night club downtown. I was twenty-one and I wanted to have some fun but we quickly got attached to it. We never got married though because I had commitment issues and she got that. She told me that she would never pressure me to and after a year of battling with the decision for so long, I finally decided I would marry her. But when I called her to tell her the good news, her mother told me that," he paused for a second, feeling tears fill up his eyes. He forced himself not to let a single tear fall, "She told me that she was dead. So whenever I meet a girl I try not to get too hung up." He let out a shaky breath as finished his sentence.

Cassandra couldn't believe what she was hearing. She squeezed his hand, feeling her own eyes getting watery, "Don...I am, so sorry."

He pulled his hand away, "It's not your fault Cassandra, you're the best thing that's ever happened to me since that."

She smiled, feeling her heart race. _Maybe Don is capable of loving someone again, and maybe that girl can be me. _She leaned in to kiss him but he turned away. He was fighting with himself. At one point he was happy he told Cassandra all of that, because it was true, but then again, he wanted to smack himself for letting his guard down. It was just so easy to around a girl like her though.

"I have to go, I'll see you later."

And suddenly Cassandra was confused. _How could he just share a moment with me like that and take off? We were finally making progress. _He got up and she watched him walk away, still confused. He sighed, knowing that she was confused but so was he.

* * *

_Lunch time_

Angela sighed as she took a seat with her friends during lunch. They were talking about the usual: cheer, boys, and makeup. Usually she would be all for talking about those things, but she had something else on her mind. She took a bite of her apple slowly, letting out another sigh in the process. She turned her head and saw Dustin sitting alone at another table, and she contemplated going over there, but her thoughts about that were interrupted by her friend Tosha.

"Hey Angie! I saw you on TV last night. You're dancing is phenomenal!" she said, clapping her hands excitedly for the redhead.

Angela put her apple down and gave her a tiny smile, "Thanks Tosha..."

"What's up with you?" Meadow popped in.

Angela ran a finger through her thick red head, "Dustin and I had a fight."

"You guys are always fighting," she joked, but Angela wasn't in the laughing mood. She rested her chin on her hand and looked over at Meadow, "It was serious...he practically broke up with me saying that I deserve better."

"Well, is he right? I mean don't get me wrong, Dustin's pretty hot. I mean he has nice blonde hair, kind of cute smile, and even though his clothes are a little raggedy he's-"

"Still my boyfriend Meadow," Angela interrupted.

"Well technically he's not since he broke up with you. But anyway, maybe he just has his own problems he needs to deal with right now. Isn't he like flat broke? That's the rumor around school."

Angela waved her statement off and stood up from her seat, "I'm going to go talk to him. Wish me good luck?"

Meadow and Tosha smiled, "Good luck."

She drew in a deep breath as she walked over to his table. She stared at the ground the entire time, unsure of what she was going to say. It was crazy how as popular and confident as she was, Dustin could still make her feel so...shy. Once she found his table she noticed there was a chubby man with a outfit that closely resembled that of a burglars sitting next to him.

"Dustin...hey," she said, catching his attention.

He looked up at her, holding in a sigh, "Hi Angela."

There was a brief silence before she started talking again, "Whose this?"

"The name's Gordon," he said in a friendly tone, extending his hand for her to shake. She shook his hand and he smiled, then looked at Dustin, "Dustin, is this your girl?"

He swallowed a lump in his throat as he noticed Angela glancing at him, most likely asking herself the same question. He rubbed the back of his neck with his hand and stuttered, "I-It's complicated."

"I see. Well nice to meet you. The name's Angela right?"

She nodded, "Yeah, it's nice to meet you too. Uh, I hate to be rude but aren't you a little too old for high-school?"

He shrugged his shoulders as he bit into a hamburger, "I never finished high-school so I thought I'd come here and try it out. Dustin told me what school he went to at work. We're both in the c-"

"Culinary career!" he blurted, "I want to be a cook someday."

Angela raised an eyebrow at him, a little suspicious, "You do?"

"Yeah. I thought I'd try something new."

"Oh, well that's great...I guess. Uh, can I talk to you later? Maybe we could meet up somewhere after-school?"

"Sure," he said, and she nodded, then walked away.

* * *

Lilith was still in class since she had second lunch. She'd been texting Dirk but he never replied back. _What's going on? He's never missed a day of school. _She logged onto her simbook account on her phone and checked to see if she had any messages from him. Her phone red one new message and she opened it up to see that it was from Dirk.

_Hey Lilith, sorry you won't be seeing me today. I'm going to visit a new college today for my avid field trip. I'll see you tomorrow though, we really need to talk._

_-Dirk_

She sighed. She was happy that Dirk was getting to check out colleges but she hated being left alone at school, although she'd never admit it. She really didn't have any friends expect for Ricky Murray, but they were only friends because Dirk was on the football team his freshman year. Well, barely, he mostly filled in for someone who was injured because football wasn't his thing. Interrupting her thoughts was the teacher.

"Great to see that you haven't been paying attention again!" her teacher exclaimed, walking over to her and extending her hand out, "Hand over the phone Miss Pleasant."

Lilith rolled her eyes and gave it to her, hoping that the bell would ring soon so she could just get out of there.

* * *

Dirk had just arrived at SimState University with his classmates. He was so excited; he couldn't believe that he was this close to the university of his dreams.

"Can you believe this! We're getting a close look at SimState University! Here I can start my medical work early. There's a hospital 3 blocks away!" Sophie said with an excited tone. She pulled Dirk into a hug and he didn't stop her. They'd been best friends since third grade.

"I know. I can't wait to be able to get in some research papers. We're such nerds," he laughed.

Sophie smiled, "Nerds who will be getting more money than the Goth family one day."

Dirk laughed at this, "No way they're way too rich! Let's take things one step at a time."

She giggled, "Yeah you're right."

"Ok class! Pay attention! Now I'm very sorry that your teacher couldn't make it today. But I'm the sub for today. I'm Miss Bendett and today we'll be getting an inside scoop of SimState University. Make sure that you treat all guest speakers with the utmost respect. Alright, let's head in," she said, leading the students inside the campus.

* * *

Mortimer's head was spinning as Phoebe used magic to transport them back in time. As the colors floated around him, he couldn't even describe what it felt like. It was crazy. Suddenly he was falling down, but some strange white dust kept him from landing right on his head.

"Wow, how did you do that?" Mortimer asked, completely astonished.

"Simple, I just used the transport into time spell," she shrugged, and Mortimer smiled, "Well thanks." As he looked around, he noticed a change in things. The town looked familiar but not up to date. He noticed that he was in the same Goth house, but with different decorations and pictures hanging everywhere. It all felt so familiar, and he watched closely.

_"Cassandra honey. Do you want something to eat?" Bella asked her dearest daughter._

_Cassandra shook her head rather stubbornly; she was watching the fish tank, as if she was almost studying it. _

_"Mortimer honey. We need to get that girl to go out. There's something seriously wrong with her sometimes," Bella said with a concerned voice._

_Mortimer let out a laugh, "We do have quite a peculiar girl on our hands. But I'm sure she's fine. What's she doing right now?"_

_"Watching the fish tanks as always," Bella sighed._

_"Maybe she's trying to learn how to swim. Let's get her into some swimming lessons," Mortimer said, then gave his wife a kiss on the cheek._

_Bella smiled._

As Mortimer watched the scene he felt like he was going to cry. He really did miss Bella, and he missed Cassandra being a young, innocent, girl. Of course right now she was a bit innocent to most things, but she was getting married soon, and it all seemed like it was happening too fast. Mortimer turned to Phoebe the Good Witch, "I miss this but...I think you transported me too far back into time. I need to see when Bella was abducted by aliens. Or maybe a day before that."

"Do you have an exact date?" the witch asked.

Mortimer nodded, he would never forget the day his love was taken from him, "She was abducted on December 25, right on Christmas day. Maybe we can go back to a week before Christmas."

"Ok. I will try my best, but when you get there, how do you plan on preventing something like this from happening? It's most likely that she will be a little confused as to why you look exactly like her husband," she said.

"I don't know yet, I'll figure it out when I get there though," Mortimer sighed; this was going to be a whole lot harder than he had expected it to be.

_Stay tuned for the next episode! __I hope you all are enjoying this. __Quick question: Who do you think __Don's first love was? This is an idea __that I've created on my own but I just __want to know your guys' thoughts on it._


	6. Episode 4PT3

**It's Now or Never...Don finally realizes what he wants, but is it too late? Mortimer unlocks the question that everyone in Pleasantview has been asking. Dirk's dreams are coming true, but is his reality falling apart? And for Angela and Dustin it may just be the make or break of their relationship.**

**It's Now or Never Part 3**

Don drove to the community pool, happy to get out of the house. He didn't know what was going on with him, only that he was starting to feel something for Cassandra, and he couldn't stop it. Sure, he didn't think Cassandra was hot, but with her, physical attraction didn't mater. He mentally smacked himself as he tried to shake his feelings for her off. He didn't start having these feelings until well, the wedding. The car pulled to a stop and jerked his thoughts away from his brain for a minute. He got out the car and slammed the door shut. With a sigh, he made his way to the community pool.

He opened the door and practically jumped when he saw Dina. He resisted the urge to roll his eyes as he saw her strut over in a black bikini. She moved her hips from side to side unnecessarily, showing off her curvy figure in the process. Her hair was sightly wavy and she flipped it to one side and waved at Don. She looked gorgeous, with her tan skin and makeup, but Don didn't care about that right now. He had other things on his mind.

"Hey Don," she said in a seductive tone and he resisted the urge to scoff.

"Hey, look I can't talk right now. I'm just here for the pool," he said, trying to get away from her. She grabbed his arm and glared at him, "What's up with you lately? Are you trying to avoid me or something?"

He didn't say anything, and he didn't have to, because Dina already knew the answer, "You are, why?"

"I just have other things on my mind alright?"

"Look, I know you're having second thoughts about this plan, but please just go along with it. I love you babe, you know that. What happened the guy I met in Strange Town? Gees, you're getting really soft."

Anger boiled inside of Don as he glared at Dina, "You know sometimes there's more things to life than money. Like a fucking relationship. A _real_ relationship, commitment, marriage."

She rolled her eyes, "And who the hell are you trying to fool? You don't care about that stuff, you never did. You're not a nice guy and I'm not a nice girl and that's why we're so good together." She moved closer to him, looking for a kiss but he pushed her away.

"Stay the fuck away from me. I want nothing to do with you."

"Go through with the plan Don, or I'll tell Cassandra everything."

"Tell her Dina, tell her whatever the fuck you want! I don't care anymore, I'm over all this."

"What's happened to you?"

"I've finally found someone real since Ranielle died. I found some common sense and decided to get my head out of my ass. So tell her what I did in Strange Town, what happened with Bella, give all my secrets away because I don't want to do this anymore," he whispered harshly.

She looked at him like he was some type of monster, because she couldn't understand at all where he was coming from. She didn't understand his sudden change in mood. Or how he didn't care about the money anymore. Without money, Dina was nothing. Money filled that empty void in her life that came after the death of her first husband Michael. She could never hold a relationship after that, but she could always hold a wad of cash. She looked up at Don with a pained face as he stood there, looking at Dina with anger, "Fine Don...walk away from this. But let's see how you take this. My sister's pregnant Don, and it's yours. So good luck taking care of the baby without any money."

He took a step back, completely confused. _Did she just say Nina is pregnant? And it's mine?_ He walked away, completely unsure while Dina just watched him walk away, not meaning for that to come out.

* * *

"This is useless, and I have to pee again. I'm sleepy and I'm hungry," Mortimer whined and Phoebe rolled her eyes as she handed him another potion, "I told you nothing would be exact."

"I know I'm sorry. I guess I'm just eager to find her. I mean I just hope it's worth all of this. I hope she's not," his voice trailed off. He shook the thought of her being gone forever out of his head, "Let's try this again."

Without a second to waste, Phoebe used the transport spell again. This time they were back in Pleasantview, but something felt different. It was night time, and Mortimer felt like he was in a very familiar house. It was small, but spacious enough, and it looked very cozy.

"Drink this," Phoebe said quietly.

"What's it for?" Mortimer asked, taking it out of her hands as he gulped it down.

"It's an invisible potion. You don't want anyone seeing you right? I can sense this is the right time," Phoebe whispered.

Once he finished the potion he became invisible, then looked at Phoebe, "What about you?"

She almost chuckled at the statement, "I'm a witch Mortimer, I can make myself invisible. Keep your voice down alright? They can still hear you."

"I'm a witch, I can make myself my invisible Mortimer. But you do have to keep your voice down. Just because they can't see you, doesn't mean that they can't hear you." Phoebe warned him.

_"What was that?" _

_"I don't know but look, I don't mind making out with her mom, but her daughter is ugly. No way I can marry her after Bella leaves." _

Mortimer noticed that voice right away and forced himself to keep quiet. But inside his anger was boiling inside of him.

_"Well you have to. Look, Mr. Beaker needs Bella and you're the key to it. Woo her at midnight and then as your planting a kiss on her, Mr. Beaker will send the aliens over and do away with her. Then you can marry Cassandra, I'll marry Mortimer, and we can get the cash. This isn't just for us though, you know Mr. Beaker has been looking for a new science experiment ever since Nervous figured out how to move out and received all that money from his birth mother," Dina said. _

_"Why can't Nina do something?" Don groaned._

_"Nina knows a little bit of what's happening but she's not getting involved. It's kind of a risky thing. But then again, you and I are quite the risk takers," Dina said in a seductive tone._

_Don groaned, "Fine..." _

Mortimer gasped, what was he hearing right now? He felt his body burn with rage. All he could see was red as he stared at the two sims. He felt stupid in a way. How could he ever believe that Dina actually loved him? His face darkened and he whispered angrily, "Don and Dina you will pay for what you did." Mortimer felt stupid as well. Why had he even believed that Dina actually loved him? In a dark voice he whispered, "Don and Dina...you will pay for what you did."

* * *

"And over here will be your dorms. There are also sign up sheets if you plan on joining sorority's. Now we will give you guys about an hour to look around your new campus. We expect you meet back over here when we depart. Food and snacks are sold for 4 simlieons over on the right. Enjoy," The college administrator said.

Sophie turned to look at Dirk, "Wow 4 simelions for a tiny bag of chips? This place must be expensive."

Dirk laughed, "That's exactly what I was thinking. But it can't be as expensive as Academe Le Tour right?"

She shrugged, "True."

They started to walk around and check out the new dorms. Everything was so big compared to high-school. As they started to take a look outside the campus they could see some local places that would most likely hang out at after midterms. There was a coffee shop, a hang out area, a library, a gym, and so much more.

"Wow, this place is just amazing. So what do you plan on majoring in?" Sophie asked Dirk.

Dirk shrugged his shoulders, "Good question, I never really thought of what I wanted to do. Although, I would actually love to be a professor."

She smiled, "Really? My father used to be a professor."

"Used to? What does he do now?"

She bit her bottom lip as her eyes started to water and she looked at the ground, "Will Wright decided that it was his time to go."

He pulled her into a hug, "I'm sorry I had no idea."

She held onto him and continued to cry. When she let her go, she dried her tears off, "It was a few months back, but he lived a good life. The main reason I want to be a doctor is because of him. I mean, I know he wasn't a doctor, but he always used to tell me how his father was a doctor, and he wanted to pursue that career but it never worked out for him."

He smiled, "I think your dad would be really proud of you."

"What about your mom?" she asked shyly, unsure of it was still a sore subject for him.

He smiled sadly at her, "My mom would just want me to be happy like she was."

Before she could respond he started talking again, "Come on, enough of the sad talk. Let's head over to the coffee shop, we still have some time to kill."

They started heading over to the coffee shop when a group of streakers passed by them.

Dirk and Sophie turned to look at each other and started laughing. Sophie placed her hands over her stomach and tried to stop herself from laughing but she couldn't, "I'm traumatized for life."

"I guess we'll just have to get used to people running around naked at college?" he said, and Sophie shoved him, "Come on, let's go."

* * *

_After School_

Angela grabbed her pom poms and started walking with Tosha who was talking about her latest celebrity crush.

"I mean really, who doesn't love a shirtless Malcolm Landgrab IV. I can't wait to see his next interview on simtube!" she squealed, and Angela looked at her as if she was high, "Eww! Ok do not ever say that again. Malcolm is way too old and he's not even cute!"

Tosha shrugged her shoulders, "So what, he has a lot of simileons."

Angela was about to respond when she saw Dustin from the corner of her eye, "Hey Tosha, I'll see you late alright?

She smiled, "Yeah sure. Bye Angie!" Tosha took off and walked hand in hand with her boyfriend Rick and Angela shook her head, smiling at the her friend. She then drew in a deep breath and quietly walked over to Dustin who seemed to be observing the sky, off in his own world. _He looks so at peace, for once._ He wasn't paying attention to anything at the moment, so he was a little jumpy when Angela lightly tapped him on the shoulder.

"Oh hey," Dustin said, standing in front of Angela rather awkwardly. He shifted under his feet uncomfortably and Angela smiled at him, "Uh, I only have a few minutes. My mom's picking me up but I thought maybe we could talk?"

"Yeah sure, I'm just waiting for the bus."

"Alright well here it goes," she played with her fingers to stop the nerves, "I love you Dustin, and I want to be with you right now, and forever and I know it's cheesy, but it's true. I really care about you, enough to help you and support you no matter what you're going through."

He sighed, it was so hard to listen to someone who cared so much and not know what to say, "I know Angela but-"

"But what? Why can't we just forget about all the stupid arguments and be happy?"

"I can't be with you Angela. It's not realistic. I'm not good for you, and if you knew everything about me then you wouldn't want to be with me either."

She crossed her arms over her chest, "I don't believe that Dustin. There's nothing you could say that would make me want to stop being with you. Really! You could tell me that you murdered I don't know like a hundred men, I would still try and understand."

He chuckled at her statement, "You're funny Angela, and you're really nice but I just...I don't think this is going to work out."

She sighed, "We've been friends since we were little Dustin, when are you going to finally see that I don't care about your flaws?"

He shrugged his shoulders but didn't say anything.

She shrugged her shoulders too, "Look, it's now or never Dustin. If we break up, it's for good. And if you let me walk away I am _never_ coming back. I love you Dustin, more than you realize I think. Please just let me help you," she ran a finger through her hair, "What's it going to be?"

He remained silent when the bus suddenly came. He looked at her, and gave her one last kiss, "Goodbye Angela."

She felt the tears roll down her eyes as he walked away and she felt like her heart was breaking, "I'm never coming back Dustin! Never!"

She turned away, wanting nothing more than to go home. She didn't bother looking back. She wondered if it was really it for them, if they would still have a friendship after time. Her mom pulled up and she got in the car, completely silent. She wasn't in the mood to talk at the moment.

* * *

Dustin sighed as he hopped in the bus. He never wanted to hurt Angela, and he loved her and cared for her a lot. But that's why he couldn't let her settle for him. He took a seat in the back, taking out a used MP3 player that he got when he received a bonus in the criminal career. He blasted Eminem when he noticed someone walking toward him. He took one ear bud out and raised an eyebrow at the girl. She had dark black hair that reached her waist, blue eyes, tan skin, and a skin tight pink shirt with short shorts.

He wasn't in the mood for company though, "What do you want?"

She gave him her best seductive face as she smirked at him, "You look like you've had a rough day. I heard some girl yelling at you. Maybe you should come downtown with me, and get your mind off of things."

He rolled his eyes, wondering if she was even serious. Sure, she was attractive, but he didn't want to be bothered with this girl. She was bad news, he'd known girls like her before and they were only trouble. _But Angela was never any trouble was she? She was sweet, girly, and innocent. And even when you were a complete dick to her, she still forgave you even though she could have ran off with any other guy in the school. _

"Hello?"

He snapped himself out of his thoughts, "Oh uh, no thanks."

Her smirk fell but she covered it up by shrugging her shoulders, "If you ever change your mind about things, call me. I have a group of friends who are always downtown from like eight to ten." She handed him a little sticky note with her number on it.

He sighed and grabbed the note, highly doubting that he would be stupid enough to party with some girl he barely knew. Yet, she did seem pretty entertaining, and a few drinks could help him forget about Angela for a while. He put the note in his pocket and threw his ear bud back in, blasting up his music a little louder as he waited to get home.

_Thanks for watching!_


	7. Episode 5

**Darren pays a visit to the Broke family. Dirk and Lilith have a talk about their relationship. Lucy receives some shocking news from her parents. And Mortimer is close to figuring out the truth...the whole truth. **

**The Undeniable Truth: Episode 5**

_Wednesday Afternoon_

Being alone for the day, the pregnant mother Brandi started cleaning up the house. She was stressed out about the over due bills, and the pregnancy, and cleaning was the only thing that calmed her down. She had just got done cleaning up the bathroom and despite her aching back and feet she forced herself to wash the sink. Beau had only been in school for a few days and she continually thought of him at home, hoping he didn't turn out to be a bad student like his brother. She was also a little worried that he would cause some trouble. Even as a toddler, he tried to create pranks, and he wanted to be just like Dustin, which worried her the most. She was just about to prepare herself some soup when she got a phone call. She grabbed the phone and answered with a cheerful hello. She expected it to be her best friend Nina, who was expecting. She just hoped Nina would be ok. She couldn't imagine what she would do if she had gotten pregnant with one of Pleasantviews major players.

"Hey Brandi...it's Darren," he replied, and Brandi felt her heart racing as her cheeks flushed. She thought they would never talk after the 'incident'.

"Uh, hi Darren. What's up?"

"Do you mind if I stop by? I thought maybe we could just hang out. My art business isn't going too well right now and I need to get my mind off of things."

She rolled her eyes knowing he couldn't see it, "Why now? You didn't want to come to Beau's birthday when I called and you didn't want to talk when I was at the mall."

Darren sighed over the phone,"I'm sorry Brandi, I was really busy."

She scoffed.

"Ok I wasn't busy I just, I didn't know if I could talk to you, but I want to now."

"Yeah well I'm not so sure that I want to talk to you alright? So just go, go sell your paintings," she said, then hung up the phone. She was mad, but mostly scared. She put a lot on the line to even try to talk to him and she was honestly crushed when he didn't want to talk. The doorbell rang, interrupting her thoughts. She walked over to get the door when she felt a sharp pain shoot through her stomach.

"AH!"

She grabbed her stomach, wondering what was going on with her. With each step she took she felt like someone was punching her right in the gut. She finally made her way to the door and she opened it to see Darren. She rolled her eyes at the fact that he was there, but she couldn't deny that she might need him at the moment.

"Look Brandi, I know you didn't want me to come over to talk but I bought pizza. Are you ok?" he asked, noticing that she was holding on to her belly.

"Darren I don't want pizza!" she yelled angrily.

"I'm sorry I can cook you something if that's what you-"

"Ugh! Darren please! Drive me to the hospital! The baby is coming!" she yelled in pain.

"The what-"

"THE BABY IS COMING!" she said in even louder. Darren had to stop himself from panicking. He couldn't believe that this was happening right now.

"I-I don't have a car. We're going to have to do a home birth," he said, finally calming down. He remembered when Darleen gave birth and she couldn't get to the hospital either. He put the pizza on the counter and quickly laid her on the bed. He wasn't nervous about birthing her, but he could see that she was scared.

"Deep breaths Brandi, you're going to be fine," he said, helping her take off her pants. She turned away, embarrassed by his action but he ignored it.

"F-For the love of Will Wright! Call Dr. Burb!" she screamed in agony.

"Brandi, you have to trust me alright?" he said, "The contractions are really close. I can see the head. You have to push...NOW!"

She drew in a deep breath as tears fell down her face. She squeezed his hand for reassurance and she pushed as hard as she could. He smiled at her, "You're doing great Brandi, half of the body is out. Now on the count of three, I want you to push again."

She was completely exhausted as she moved the sweaty hair out of her face. Darren thought she was absolutely breath taking, even while giving birth, but he wouldn't admit that to her, "1...2...3!"

She pushed even harder and her baby was finally out. Darren grabbed the baby and cleaned it up, then wrapped the baby in a blanket. He smiled at Brandi, "Your husband would have been happy to see this."

She drew in some deep breaths, completely tired. She gave him a weak smile as tears gushed out of her eyes and she took the baby in her arms, and gently rocked the baby, "I'm sorry you had to be here for this Darren, but thank you."

"Don't be sorry. I'm not," Darren smiled, and the two laughed as they stared at the black haired boy.

* * *

"That's all for today. Make sure you guys read the next chapter of Simspare!" the teacher instructed just as the bell rang. Lilith got out of her English class when she saw Dirk talking to some of his friends. She made her way over towards him and smiled, "Hey Dirk."

He faked a smile and Lilith noticed it.

"I'll see you later Dirk, and you too Lilith!" he said, waving as he left with a few of his friends.

They made their way into the cafeteria and took a seat. Lilith looked at Dirk with a concerned face, "Is there something wrong? You seem a little off today."

Before he could say anything more she sighed, "Oh no. The avid trip didn't go as planned?"

Dirk passed Lilith some snacks to eat, noticing that she didn't have her own lunch, "No the avid trip was great. It was everything that I could dream of."

She smirked, "That's great Dirk...so what's the problem then?"

He sighed, and put his hamburger down, "Lilith you know I care about you a lot but I think that we should, I don't know take a break. I just want to focus on college right now. I'm leaving for college early."

She was completely shocked by this. Her eyes widened and she couldn't process what was going on, "Wait just a damn minute. N-no what the fuck are you saying? What do mean you want to take a break? I-I don't understand. And you're leaving early for college? How early are you leaving? I-I can't believe this."

"Lilith I'm really sorry," he sighed, feeling completely guilty, "But I mean we should break up. I just don't think it's fair to you. I'm leaving next semester Lilith."

Lilith couldn't hide her anger or her sadness. She drew in a shaky breath, as she stood up and forced herself to pretend like she didn't care. She couldn't understand how the guy she thought loved her more than anything, would break up with her over something so stupid, "Goodbye Dirk."

"I hope we can still be-"

"Friends? Yeah, I wouldn't count on it," she threw the snacks back at him and got up from the table. The last place she wanted to sit was next to him. She was on the verge of tears but she wouldn't let anyone see that. _How could Dirk do this to me? How could he just push me away?_ She looked around for a place to sit. There were all different people now that she had first lunch. She knew sitting with Dirk's friends would be too awkward now, and she didn't know any girls besides Angela's friends who would never let her sit with them.

She looked around and spotted her sister's ex-boyfriend sitting with some senior citizen looking guy. She walked over to them, trying to hide her embarrassment. She put her bag on the table and Dustin raised an eyebrow in confusion, "Um, why are you-"

"This seat doesn't have your name on it alright so back off! I've had a long day!" Lilith hissed.

"I was just going to ask why you aren't sitting with your friends today," Dustin said nervously, biting into his sandwich.

"I don't think we've ever really talked so let's not start today alright?"

He rolled his eyes, "Well you can quit the over the top bitch act because you're the one who came and sat over here alright?"

She glared at him, "Did you just call me a bitch?"

"I simply said that you don't have to act like one."

She rolled her eyes, ignoring him. He then looked over at his friend, "Gordon?"

Gordon's eyes widened in realization, "Uh hi Lilith."

Dustin looked at the two of them curiously, "Wait how do you guys know each other?"

"He's one of the most wanted criminals, or at least he was a few years back. I bought some drugs from him to make my parents mad even though I knew I wouldn't use them. What's he doing here, how do you know him?" he asked, and before he could answer a light bulb went off in her head, "You're in the criminal career aren't you!"

He reached over the table and placed a hand over her mouth, "Could you try not blurting it out?"

"Is that what you're keeping from Angela? She said you were keeping secrets from her."

"Just don't tell her please," he sighed.

She looked at him and shrugged, "I wouldn't do that. It's not my business to tell. But you know she would still love you anyway."

"I don't know about that."

"Well I know. Look she might act like a spoiled little bitch and she kind of can be sometimes but she still loves you."

He smirked, "How did you and your sister get to be so different?"

She shrugged, "I don't feel the need to act like a princess."

"You keep it real?"

"I'd like to think so," she said, chuckling a little.

"You know I think I might like you," he said, his smirk matching hers.

"Good, because I'll probably be sitting here for a while," she smiled. The bell rang, interrupting their conversation. She grabbed her bag and waved goodbye to Dustin, then started heading over to her next class.

* * *

Lucy was at school, listening intently to her teacher who was reading a story about a beautiful prince and princess. He friend Brittany Parker was sitting next to her. She nudged Lucy, and Lucy turned to look at her, "You know who the prince and princess sound like?"

She gave her a weird look, "Who?"

"You and Beau sitting in a tree, k-i-ss-i-n-g," she said, making smooch sounds.

She pretended to gag, "Eww! No way! He's my best friend and my mom told me boys have cooties."

Brittany rolled her eyes as she played with her sparkling pink nails. She had done them herself and there was nail polish all over her fingers, "Lucy, don't be so naive. You're turning twelve soon. Don't you want a boyfriend?"

She shrugged her shoulders, "Never thought about it. My parents would never let me date at twelve anyway."

Brittany smiled, "I can date at 13 and I'm only 6 months away. Perks of being older I guess."

Lucy stuck her tongue out at Brittany, then turned to look at Beau. Beau was one of Lucy's best friends. They always played pranks on the teachers but never got in trouble. _Why would I need a boyfriend if we're good friends? Not to mention he's like four months younger than me._

"Lucy!" the teacher said, snapping her out of her thoughts.

She turned to her teacher quickly, "Yes?"

"Your mom is here to pick you up. Here's your slip," she said, handing her a bright yellow slip. Lucy was confused now. Her mom hadn't said anything about picking her up early. She grabbed her backpack and waved goodbye to her friends. She made her way outside and her mom was waiting there. She only waved to her, because they didn't have a very close relationship.

"Why am I getting out early?"

Jennifer smiled but you could tell it was a forced smile, "Let's get in the car first honey."

Once they were inside the car, her mom started driving as she talked to her daughter, "We're going to Veronaville for the rest of the week. I got a pass for school but you'll need to make up a few test when you get back."

"Why are we going there?" she asked, and her mother sighed, "Well honey, someone in our family is very sick."

* * *

"I'm going to kill him," Mortimer said in outrage.

Phoebe sighed, placing a hand on his shoulder, "We have to get out of here Mortimer."

"Can I ring his neck first?"

She glared at him and he lowered his voice, "Ok _may_ I ring his neck first?"

She scoffed, "No! We have to get out of here. I know you're beyond mad and I don't blame you but don't you want to figure this out? She could still be out there."

He sighed, trying to calm himself down, "You're right I'm sorry it's just, he brings out the evil in me."

"Sounds like me and Frances," she said.

He raised an eyebrow at her and she waving it off, "She's my rival. The most evil witch in all of Belladonna Cove."

"Oh," he nodded.

"Let's go," she said, "Activate transport!"

In a few short minutes, they arrived on a balcony. It was one that Mortimer had definitely remembered. He assumed that it was Don's house.

_"Thanks for coming out here Bella. I'm really happy that you're letting me marry your daughter," Don said in a sincere tone._

_Bella smiled, "Well I hope that you will make my daughter happy Don. She deserves it."_

_"I'd do anything to make her happy," he smirked, "And I'd do anything to make you happy too."_

_Bella gave him a confused look. For a second, you saw a look of guilt in Don's eyes, but you could only see it if you were studying him closely. He moved over to Bella and ran a hand through her hair. He inched closer toward her, looking for a make out session but she quickly pushed him away, "For the love of Will Wright Don! You're supposed to be getting married to my daughter. What are you doing? Is that why you wanted to be married to her, to get to me?"_

_You could tell Bella was furious, but Don didn't care. He looked up in the sky every few seconds. Bella glared at him, "I'm going home." She went to grab her stuff when she heard a large noise. She looked up; it was a giant saucer. Her eyes widened with fear as she tried to make a run for it but it was too late, the saucer had sucked her up into the unknown. And no one knew when she would come back._

_As the saucer flew away, Don answered his cell phone, "Yes Dina, the task has been completed. She's gone. Now we just have to work on Mortimer and Cassandra." _

The anger inside Mortimer began to boil. Phoebe was shocked as well. She looked over at Mortimer, who's face was red as a tomato. He was on edge. He ran over to Don and kicked him in the leg, leaving a confused Don to hold his leg in pain. Mortimer let the tears fall down his eyes as Phoebe ran after him and pulled him far away from the house. She watched as he started to break down. He covered his face with his hands and fell to the floor as he began to sob. _My only love is gone and it's because of that piece of shit of a sim. _

Phoebe sighed and pulled him into a hug and let him cry on her shoulder. Minutes later, they pulled away and she felt something take over her body. She was determined to help this poor soul find his wife, "We're going to find your wife. Have some faith and we'll find her."

He didn't reply, making Phoebe even sadder than before, "I'm going to transport you to where this Beaker guy has taken her."

She concentrated long and hard. She'd never done something like this in all of her years. She was going to create her own spell from scratch.

_Time in space, universe collide_

_Take me to the place where Bella lies_

She said it with so much power, that the wind began to pick up, and she felt some type of rush. Mortimer looked up, dried tears still on his face. He grabbed her hand they were taken away.

_Stay tuned for the next episode!_


	8. Episode 6

**Darren and Brandi decide to start dating. Lilith and Angela get into a fight. The Oldie family begins to plan their anniversary party. Don comes to visit Nina after finding out that she's pregnant with his baby. And Mortimer finds some news that just might change his life forever.**

**Side Note: I just wanted to say that the fight scene between Lilith and Angela was inspired by Secret Life of the American Teenager when Adrian and Grace got into a fight. **

**When One Door Closes Another Door Opens: Episode 6**

Darren grabbed two slices of pizza and two drinks for him and Brandi. The baby laid in the crib, sound asleep. Brandi rested on her bed, her eyes half closed. She was exhausted, and who could blame her? Anyone would be tired after delivering a baby. He walked over to he room and handed her a plate of pizza and a water bottle. She couldn't hide her smile as she sat up a little, and grabbed her food.

"Why are you doing this?" she muttered.

He looked at the ground, suddenly interested in his shoes, "I don't know Brandi. Maybe I care about you."

She took a bite of her pizza, then sipped on her water, "So are we going to talk about this? Or are we just going to leave it?"

He smiled, "I think we should talk. That's why I came here it's just that I don't know where to start. I mean, we were both drunks and things just escalated from there."

She looked down, letting her hair cover her face, "I know we were drunk Darren and I want to avoid this as much as you do because I _hate_ putting myself out there but there was something there, for me anyway. I tried to forget about it but then I talked to Skipp, and he told me to put myself out there. But Darren if you don't want to do to this then please just let me know so I can move on with my life."

He laughed and Brandi raised an eyebrow at him, "What's so funny?"

"Skipp came to you and Darleen came to me. I think they set us up."

Brandi laughed, "Oh."

There was a brief silence before Darren started talking again, "I still really miss Darleen. I thought she was going to be in my life forever and then I fell for Cassandra and thought I could be with her. I really thought she was the one but I don't know, there's something there with you. Do you think we could ever date?"

She finished off her pizza then put her plate down, "Let's just see where things go. No talk about marriage or anything, let's just have a good time."

"Yeah ok," he laughed.

They sat there in an awkward silence, thinking of something to talk about.

"My son is going away to college after this semester," he said.

Her eyes widened, "Really? I thought he was in the same grade as Dustin?"

"Yeah, he's a junior too but he has his heart set on Sim State University. He even went there for an avid trip, and him and his friend Sophie got in. I just wonder what he's going to do about his girlfriend Lilith."

"Well if they love each other it will work itself out. They might even decide to go their separate ways. Skipp went to college while I stayed home. I was pregnant with Dustin at the time. Gosh, Dustin was such a sweet kid. Not the he isn't now but he's definitely changed. He's not trying hard in school, and he's being so secretive. I think he's still upset about his fathers death and so am I but he handles things differently. I'm thankful that he has a job at least," she sighed.

"He probably is still upset. I mean, losing a dad is a big deal but you have to let him know that that doesn't mean he can act up. He still has time to get his grades up. If he does summer school he can improve his old grades. He might just want to go to La Fiesta Tech. I mean it's a community school but you don't need a fancy school to get a good job, And you can have him get free tutoring at the school," he informed her.

"Really?"

"Yeah, don't you read the mail?"

She shrugged, "I usually throw it out, thinking it's junk mail."

"Well there's definitely free tutoring. The school has to provide it. You can sign him up but he can also sign up himself."

She smiled, "Thanks Darren, this is exactly what he needs. Now uh, I'm sorry but I need to get some sleep. I'm really tired."

"Right of course. No problem. I'll see you later Brandi," he said, giving her a kiss on the cheek and walking out of the house. She closed her eyes, and smiled. Despite everything that happened, today had been a pretty good day. She napped for about five minutes when she heard the baby cry. She groaned, "Great."

* * *

"Football?" he questioned.

"Hate it. What's the point of that game anyway?" Lilith sneered.

Dustin laughed. He was walking with Lilith. _She's really cool, why haven't I talked to her before?_

"I agree. I always get lost during the games and I'm a fucking guy. Parents?" he asked.

She let out a dark chuckle, "Hate them. They always pay attention to Angela anyway. I could probably run away and they wouldn't notice unless they needed me to clean something. I guess I'm like the simerella of the house."

She rolled her eyes but she was actually hurt by it. She still craved affection from her parents even if she didn't show it. She was consumed by her thoughts of her parents when Dustin touched her shoulder. She turned her head toward him, staring at him with curiosity.

"You alright?"

"Oh, yeah I'm fine. I guess I was just wondering what my parents would be like if I was like Angela-"

"Don't wonder, it's a waste of time. Angela's cool and everything but you are who you are Lilith. And I think you should stay that way. My mom wants me to be someone else too. She's always bugging me about my grades and shit. I'm the one with the fucking job and not once has she told me that she was proud for that," he said, his voice bitter. He couldn't help it, he'd been bitter towards his mom for the longest time.

She laughed at this, "Where have you been all my life Dustin? We're like the same people."

He laughed with her, "I know, and that means you have to be pretty cool to be like me. Who would have known?"

She shoved him, laughing a little, "Someones got jokes I see."

He smirked, "That's right."

"LILITH!"

"Oh gosh," Lilith muttered after hearing Angela's voice. She was finally making a friend, why did Angela have to bug her? _Oh right, because this is her ex Lilith. Her fucking ex! _

"What's up?"

Angela made her way over to Lilith, a little confused. She noticed Lilith and Dustin talking and she tried to hide her anger. Her lips tightened and she forced a fake smile onto her face, "What's going on? You two are talking now?"

"Yeah we are but it's nothing, Let's go," Lilith said, yanking her sisters arm. Angela pushed her away and glared at Dustin, "Is this why you don't want to be with me Dustin? Not because I deserve better but because you want her. You want my sister!"

Some of the students could hear the teens argument and started coming closer. Dustin shook his head, "Angela, we're just-"

"Friends? Oh come on! Why would you want to be friends with her?" she said, rolling her eyes.

"And what the fuck is that supposed to mean?" Lilith said, stepping in front of Dustin to look at her sister now, "I'm sure he'd rather be friends with me than you."

"And why is that Lilith? You know we've been child hood friends for as long as I can remember. So what, you think you're better than me?"

She crossed her arms over her chest, "No, because unlike you I'm real! I can have a conversation that's not about cheer, or pom poms, or about how everyone loves me!"

Angela stepped toward her sister, "Take. That. Back."

"Or else what? What are you gonna do? You gonna fight me huh? You gonna fight me you pom pom loving, girly girl freak!"

She gasped, "How dare you! You're the, the-"

"The what Angela!" she said in taunting voice.

"You're the B word!" she said, and the crowd gasped.

Lilith put a hand over her mouth, pretending to gasp, "Oooh! What's the B word Angela?"

They were circling around each other now, both staring at one another completely oblivious to the crowd. Dustin just stared at the two, unsure of what to do.

"You know what the B word is Lilith because that's what you are," she said.

"Say it Angela."

"No I'm not gonna say that, I'm gonna say something else," she blurted.

"What, you gonna say a prayer? Huh? You gonna say prayer you Will Wright loving two faced virgin!"

That was the final straw for Angela. Her face was red with embarrassment and anger, "Maybe I will say a prayer. Will Wright, please help Lilith because she's a BITCH!"

The crowd gasped and Lilith lunged at her sister, pulling at her long red hair. They fell to the ground and Angela yanked on Lilith's hair as well. Lilith rolled her over so that she was on top and they clawed at each others faces.

"Let go of me!" Angela shrieked.

They rolled around in the grass and the students watched with shocked faces.

"Somebody help me!" Angela shrieked.

Tosha ran over to her friend and Lilith looked up and glared at her, "You help her and I come after you."

She ran away rather cowardly. They continued fighting when Angela started laughing.

Lilith looked at her, confused, "Are you laughing or crying?"

"Laughing!"

She let go of her, busting into laughter as well, "Why are you laughing?"

Angela held her stomach, her laughter was so bad, "Look at us, we look crazy."

They turned around and saw the crowd that was watching them. They started to walk away and Lilith grabbed Angela's hand.

She sighed and looked at Angela, "I'm sorry I called you a pom pom loving girly girl-"

Angela put a hand in front of her face, "It's ok, you're kind of right. And I'm sorry I called you a bitch, I really shouldn't have said that."

She shrugged, "It's ok. I am a bitch. Let's go home."

They both smiled at each other, and for the first time they were actually getting along. Dustin trailed behind them, "You girls are really weird." With that said he took off in the other direction towards his house.

Angela smiled at her sister, "If you want to go out with Dustin you can. We're over so it's not really any of my business."

Lilith shook her head, "Ew! Do you really think I would try to go out with your ex? I was just hanging out with him because Dirk broke up with me and Dirk was really my only friend at school."

"Wait, Dirk broke up with you? Why?"

"He's leaving for college next semester and he doesn't want either of this to be tied down. That's what he said at least but I think he just got tired of me," she sighed.

"Wow," she said, surprised. Dirk and Lilith really seemed like a good couple. The complemented each other. She snapped her fingers, suddenly getting an idea, "We can get him back though. We just have to make you seem like super smart and know about politics and stuff."

"So...change myself for some dick that doesn't even like me anymore?"

"He still likes you he's just confused," she said in a hopeful tone.

Lilith groaned, "If this goes wrong I'm blaming you."

* * *

The Oldie family had just taken a trip to Veronaville. They were obviously older now and they wanted to see the world, but it seemed as if Herb was the only one able to do that. Coral was flowing in and out of consciousness and not even the best doctors in Veronaville could help her right now.

"I guess we should cancel the anniversary party for tomorrow huh?" Herb asked, but Coral shook her head and let out a cough, "D-Don't do that. I want to have a party before I die. Oh, I'm so cold Herb. Would you mind getting me a blanket?"

Herb smiled, "Anything for you my love." He grabbed her a blanket. Coral and Herb weren't always the perfect oldie couple. Early on in their marriage they would have a lot of problems. Herb would go out and drink every night because he was pissed that Coral couldn't produce any kids. He would yell at her all the time for it, and Coral would go out and cheat on him knowing that it wouldn't be much of a risk since she wouldn't get pregnant. She did it to ease the pain, which is the same reason he did the things he did. He'd always loved kids but he sighed, guessing that it wasn't part of Wright's plan.

They took seat and drank some hot chocolate and watched black and white movies. For the first time in a while he saw the pain leave Coral. Whenever there was good sitcom on she would smile. She looked like an angel in his eyes.

"You're beautiful Coral, you know that right?" he muttered.

Coral turned and smiled, "Thank you Herb...it's been a while since I've heard that."

* * *

Cassandra had been trying to call her dad for a while now but he wasn't answering his phone. She wondered where he could be, or if something bad happened to him. She was about to try and call again when the door swung open and she saw Don standing there. She walked over to him and kissed him. He returned the kiss pulling her in close and she felt a spark go off. But when he let go, she frowned. He had a blank expression on his face and he walked past her in a robotic way and grabbed a coat.

"Something wrong?"

He gave her another kiss, "No babe, nothing's wrong. I'll be back for dinner."

"What's with all the coming and leaving?"

"I just have some things that I need to take care of. I'll be back, I promise," and with that he shut the door, not bearing to look at his wife pained face.

He made his way out, noticing that it was getting windy. He zipped up his jacket and made his way over to the Catiline's house. His heart started to pound, and he tried to get rid of the nerves by playing with his hands. He knocked on the door but no one responded. He sighed, and knocked again. Still nothing. He waited around for several minutes, wondering if she was even there. He was just about to turn and leave when Nina opened the door. Her skin glowed; it looked like she had gotten a tan. Her red hair was longer and she was chubby so you could tell she was expecting. The only thing that didn't look right were her eyes. They were blood shot and there was bags under them. Her usual sparkle was gone.

"What are you doing here?"

"Is Dina here?"

She shook her head.

"Good, may I come in?"

Nina felt her throat tighten as she let him in. _Does he know?_

They took a seat on the couch and Don looked at Nina, then let out a sigh, "Is it mine?"

She rolled her eyes and crossed her hands over her chest, "Great way to start a conversation."

"I'm sorry I just, I have to know. Is it?"

She looked away from him, "Yes, it's yours."

He sighed, "I just don't understand how this happened."

"That's what happens when you wohoo a lot and you get lazy about it," she snapped.

Silence.

She sighed, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear, "Dina told me you're in love with Cassandra so don't worry about it. I have things taken care of."

"You mean you're-"

"I'm getting the baby deleted," she interrupted him.

He suddenly grew anger, "That's my baby too! Don't you think I want to see my own baby!"

She stood up, tears filling her eyes, "No I don't! That's not you at all Don! You never fucking cared. All you wanted was a quick wohoo!"

"Well I've changed alright? I'm not the same dick that got you pregnant," he shouted.

"Yeah now you're just the dick that's getting married," she said.

He got up and grabbed her arm, refusing to let her way away from all of this, "Look maybe I do love Cassandra. Maybe I could even be in love with her but that doesn't mean that I won't do anything to help you and the baby out."

She moved her arm away from him, "It's my decision Don. I'm the on carrying it! Stop acting like you care ok?"

"Fine then, do whatever the fuck you want. Just prepare to live with the guilt of killing your baby."

"And since when did you consider it a baby while it's still in the womb?"

"Right after I had the balls to realize that I was being fucked up in the past. Look please, all I'm asking is that you think about," he said, "Think about keeping the baby."

"And are you going to tell Cassandra that I'm having a baby and it's yours?"

"I don't know about that yet."

"Then you haven't changed at all because you're still keeping secrets," she said, glaring at him. She walked over the door and opened it, "Now get out."

He walked out the door, confused with himself and the situation. _Having a baby could ruin my chances with Cassandra, but I don't know I guess it's the right thing to do. _

* * *

Mortimer's head was spinning as he landed on a some dirt. He pinched his nose; the place had an unbearable stench. He looked around, noticing that it was dark out expect for a few lit candles here and there. There were adults holding candles and crying. _But why?_ Mortimer turned and noticed that he was in a grave yard. He felt the dirt that he was standing on and noticed the sims surrounded the grave.

"No," he muttered, "B-but it can't be. It just can't."

A deep sadness filled his heart as he pushed people out of the way and ran to the grave. Phoebe didn't try to stop him this time as he let his tears out. She felt sorry for him. A grief fell upon her as she saw everyone crying. And seeing this man that she barely knew but cared for so much as their journey went out, made her want to cry. But she wanted to be strong for him. She let a few tears escape her eyes as she walked over to him.

"Mortimer,"

He ignored her as he traced the words on the graveyard.

_Here lies Bella Goth_

_A beautiful lady, with a big heart, and a great mind_

_R.I.P Bella..._

"H-How could this happen? How could the p-police not inform me!" Mortimer shouted, bitter tears rolling down his face in the process.

Phoebe sighed, "This is a pretty deep part of the forest. Only few knew about her death I'm guessing, and they're probably dead too. The police never found the killer Mortimer they never even found the body."

Suddenly everyone was leaving, the lights from the candle that made the spooky place glow was gone. Only a darkness filled the place, just like darkness that now filled his heart. The graveyard began to shake and Mortimer's eyes widened. For the first time he was seeing Bella's ghostly figure. She still looked beautiful, ghost or non ghost.

"B-Bella," Mortimer whispered, in awe of her beauty somehow.

"I'll give you two some time alone," Phoebe said, going further on into the forest.

"Morty yes it's be," she smiled.

"Bel. I-I'm sorry I never found you. I love you so much. I never wanted you to-"

"Morty, honey. You did nothing wrong. I will always love you and I've been waiting for you to find me. No one has found me yet. I've been reported missing right?"

He nodded, "How can you smile at a time like this?"

"It's been many years Morty. I've learn to grow from it. How did you find me?"

"That lady Phoebe that walked away. She's a good witch. She helped me," he told her.

She smiled, "That's good. Now Morty, Will Wright has kept you alive for a special task, so that you can find evidence of my death. Go back in time to April 4, that's when Mr. Beaker did his first experiment on me, you'll be guided through the Creator, but keep Phoebe with you, she will be of great help."

Mortimer was shocked with all of this, "A special task? I have to find evidence...then what will happen next?"

But Bella just kissed his lips with her ghostly lips, "You'll figure it out. Trust in the Creator, and do not stray away from him. Go and tell Phoebe of what you must do. And make sure you call Cassandra, you know how worried our daughter gets."

Mortimer nodded, "Alright of course."

"And Mortimer?" Bella said, Mortimer looked at her, "Yes, my love."

"I have to know...would you have really married Dina?" Bella asked. Mortimer felt something get caught in his throat, he had totally forgotten about his engagement with Dina, "Only so that Alexander could have a mother but my love forever belongs to you."

Bella smiled, and then disappeared.

_Stay tuned for more episodes._


	9. Episode 7PT1

**Dustin gets into an argument with his mom and decides to head out to a club. The Pleasant family receives news of Coral's illness, but at the time, Daniel is nowhere to be found. Mortimer and Phoebe set out to collect information about Bella's death. **

**Sweet and Sour PT1: Episode 7**

Dustin whistled a cheerful tune as he arrived home. He was strangely happy for once, even after coming home from school. He told himself that it was because of Lilith. Dustin had very few friends at school, and Lilith seemed to get where he was coming from. He walked into the house and set his backpack in his room that was looking a little cluttered. He sighed; he hated looking at the small space. He hated how tiny and cluttered the entire house was. When he came out of his room he noticed that there was a baby in the crib. He smiled, and walked over to the new baby boy. He picked his brother up, cuddling it slightly, "Hey brother, welcome to the family." He kissed him on the cheek and laid him back down. He walked into his mother room and looked at her. There was sweat falling down her face and she shook under the covers uncomfortably. Dustin shuddered, wondering if this had always happened to her and he never seemed to notice.

Brandi woke up after feeling a presence near her. She groaned, feeling a headache coming on. She turned to one side and saw her son staring at her. She gave her son a weak smile, "Hi Dustin."

"Hi. Are you ok?"

"Yeah, I'm fine."

He looked down at the side of her sheet, "Your sheets, they have blood on them. You had birth here?"

She nodded, letting out another yawn. She closed her eyes again as she listened to her son talk.

"How?"

Her eyes fluttered open again as she thought back to Darren. She felt the heat rising to her cheeks, "Well uh, Darren helped me."

He rolled his eyes and scoffed at his mother, "Oh gosh, are you guys together or something?"

She gave him a weak laugh, "Relax Dustin. We're just dating it's no big deal. It's not like anyone popped out a ring."

He sighed, "Fine. So what do you want to name him? He looks so much like you."

She pondered the thought for a moment, "He needs something fresh. Something different like," she placed a chubby finger on her chin, "Ty?"

Dustin smiled, "That's a cool name, I like it."

"Yeah, yeah me too," she smiled. Dustin was about to leave when she called him back. He turned towards her, "What's up?"

"I talked to Darren today and he said there's a tutoring program at your school. You're failing all your classes expect for P.E so you need to sign up," she instructed.

He froze. The thought of tutoring was enough to make him angry. He hated tutoring, it made him feel stupid. Like he couldn't bring his grades up or he wasn't smart enough without any help. Dustin wanted to prove to everyone that he didn't need help from anyone. He could do it all on his own. He shook his head, "I'll bring my grades up on my own."

"You need help son," she said.

"Mom, just let it go," he warned.

"I don't know why you get like this all the time. It's ok to get help Dustin. Just please, take the tutoring class and-"

"I said NO!" he screamed, causing the baby to cry.

Brandi sighed, knowing that she wouldn't be getting any sleep today. She glared at her son, "Look I'm exhausted and I don't have time to argue with you. You're signing up for tutoring and that's final! I'll call the school myself if I have to! It's free and you need it. I don't think your stupid Dustin, but you do need help." She got up to check on her baby. She let out another sigh as she made her way to the crib and cradled the baby until he went back to sleep.

"I have to go to work," he lied.

"I thought you didn't work today."

"They call me in sometimes," he said.

"And do you mind telling me what your job is? Why are you being so secretive?" she asked, her hands on her hips. The baby was sound asleep again and she was careful not to raise her voice.

"Alright I don't have work I just, I need to get out," he stated in a bitter tone, "I'm calling up a friend."

"And what about your homework?"

But it was too late, Dustin already had his cellphone out as he slammed the door. He scrolled down the list of contacts on his cheap phone. He really had no one to call. An idea popped into his head and he searched his pocket when he found the crumbled piece of paper with the number from the girl on the bus. _What was her name?_ He looked at the paper.

_Ivy Copur ~_

He dialed her number quickly knowing that she would pick up. Ivy seemed like the type of girl that was ready to have fun, and that's what Dustin needed to do right now, was have fun. He couldn't be at his house right now. He was upset with his mother for making him do tutoring. _Can't she see that I don't need anyone's help? I didn't need help when dad died and I certainly don't need help bringing my grades up. _Deep down, he knew that his mother was just trying to help, but he blocked that part out of his brain.

Ivy picked up after the third ring with a cheerful hello.

"Hey Ivy, do you want to hang out somewhere? Yeah I know it's a little early. Can you make it or not?"

She agreed and he hung up the phone, then called Gordon to give him a ride downtown.

* * *

Angela and Lilith arrived home in a short amount of time. Lilith opened the door as her sister kept talking.

"So I was thinking for our plan to get you and Dirk back together, I could fix up your hair. Ooh! There's some nice neutral eye shadows that you could wear. Or I have hot pink if you want to spice it up," she smiled.

Lilith rolled her eyes as she entered the house, "Can we work on this tomorrow? I have homework. I'm failing like three of my classes and the only way I can get a C is if I finish all this homework."

"Well why didn't you just pay some nerds to do it? That's what I do most of the time but I get the work for the most part."

"Because unlike you, I don't keep a wad of cash on me. We may have a lot of money but that doesn't mean we have to use it on stuff like that," she hissed.

Angela waved off her statement, "Well maybe I could help you out."

Lilith sighed. She'd never received help from anyone, even when she was a baby. She learned how to walk and talk all on her own; mostly by copying what Angela was learning. But right now, she just needed to get a C and that was the easiest way, "Alright fine, we'll start with Geometry."

"That's a tough one. I did it my freshman year," she said.

"Yeah so did I. Needless to say I failed. Now help me," she hissed.

Angela sat down next to her, and opened up the book. She started showing her what to do and surprisingly Lilith was getting it, for the most part. They went over most of the questions and Angela gave her examples of how to do the work. Interrupting their homework session, the door flung open and in came Mary-Sue. She carried a small brief case as she walked inside the house.

Her eyes were wide with shock when she saw Lilith and Angela sitting together, doing their homework, "What are you guys up to?"

Lilith rolled her eyes, "We're doing homework mom."

She laughed, "Is this true Angela?"

Angela nodded, "Yeah. Lilith wanted some help with her Geometry."

Lilith glared at her mother, "You know I am capable of doing the right thing."

Mary smiled, "Of course sweetheart. I'm just a little shocked. Usually you're out with Dirk or something. I wish Daniel were here to see this. He's not here is he?" Daniel had been leaving the family a lot lately and Mary wondered what he was up to. _There's probably a lot of stuff going at his job._

"Dads not here," Angela said, "And Dirk and Lilith broke up."

Lilith rolled her eyes at Angela as she closed her geometry book and headed upstairs, "Thanks Angela."

Angela sighed, "Lilith wait! I'm sorry!"

"Give her some time," Mary said, "Dirk is such a good kid. I wonder why Dirk broke up with her."

The redhead shrugged her shoulders, "She said he said that Dirk's going to college soon. So I guess now we're both single. Must be a twin thing."

"You're not with Dustin?"

She shook her head, "It was a bad breakup that I'd rather not talk about. I still love him though mom."

Mary gave her a sad smile, "I know your father and I never made him welcome here, but I hope things work out for you two, if that's what you want I mean. So are you hungry? I'll cook something tonight."

"Are you in a good mood or something? You never cook."

Mary shoved her daughter playfully, "I cook sometimes."

"Yeah mac and cheese," she said, sticking her tongue out.

Her mother laughed, "Well if you must know. I got promoted today."

Angela squealed excitedly for her mother, "Mom that's great! Oh and I'll have spaghetti."

Mary entered the kitchen, ready to make the spaghetti when she received a phone call from the Burb family. She reached for the phone and with a cheerful tone she said, "Hello?"

"Hello is this Mary?" Jennifer asked.

"This is she. What's up?"

Silence.

"Jen you there?"

She sighed over the phone, "Yeah...yeah I'm here. Uh Mary I'm sorry to inform you, especially from over the phone but Coral is very ill. We all know she's been sick for a while but the doctors said she collapsed and," she couldn't even finish her sentence as she broke out into a fit of sobs, "S-she's i-in a coma."

Mary felt the tears fall down her eyes. Coral was her mother, her adoptive mother but still her mother. She took care of her since she was a little girl. She was the woman that read her bed time stories, and made her breakfast. She was the one that bought her toys and threw her birthday parties. She couldn't imagine what it would be like if her mother wasn't in her life anymore. She rubbed her eyes, trying to stop the tears from running down. She hung up, her hands began to shake as she reached for the phone to call her husband. He had to know about this.

One ring...

Two rings...

Three rings...

Nothing. Where the hell was Daniel?

* * *

"Ahaha, stop!"

Daniel smiled at her, "You're really ticklish babe."

He reached over to tickle her again when she hushed him and pressed her lips to his. He grabbed her waist and she wrapped her arms around his neck. She moved her hands in his hair, forcing him to come closer. They'd been doing stuff like this for a while. When they pulled away, she looked up at him with hopeful eyes, "When are you going to tell her?"

"Soon babe, soon."

"You said that two weeks ago. We've been going out for two months, and we've been intimate for one. I really love you Daniel. I need to know."

"I said soon alright? Now please, can we not interrupt this perfect evening?"

And with that they proceeded to kiss again.

* * *

Mortimer raced toward Phoebe in the darkness, "Phoebe! Phoebe!"

Phoebe turned toward Mortimer, her eyes dark and teary. He looked at her with concern, "Are you ok?"

She dried her eyes, "Yeah I'm fine. It was just, seeing you sit by your wife's grave reminds me of a friend of mine that died. I miss her a lot."

He reached out and hugged her, knowing what it felt like to lose a loved one. His scent lingered on her body and he whispered in her ear that everything would be alright.

"Thanks," she said as she pulled away.

Mortimer gave her a pat on the back, "I talked to Bella. She wants me to find evidence of her death so I can report it. We have to go back to April fourth. When that bastard did his first experience on my love."

She drew in a deep breath, "Let's go."

Just then he remembered Cassandra, "Wait." He took out his phone and called Cassandra but it went straight to voice mail.

"Hey Cassandra. I'll be back home soon don't worry. I'm going to have to ask you to please postpone the wedding though. I have to take a little vacation. I love you, bye."

"Your daughters getting married?"

"Not anymore."

_Stay tuned for more episodes_


	10. Episode 7PT2

**Dustin falls into peer pressure. Beau is caught in a sticky situation with his mother. Daniel post pones telling Mary he wants a divorce. Cassandra receives some shocking news and Mortimer faces the reality.**

**Sweet and Sour PT2**

Dustin arrived at a bar called Midnight. Gordon dropped him off and he met up with Ivy and a large group of her friends. She waved at him and he smiled, "Sup."

She smirked as she twirled her hair, "I thought you'd show up. I checked out the bar, there's not a lot of people there but no worries, we can have our own little party." She winked at him and he couldn't help but laugh. _She's nothing like Angela. She's different...fiery, sloppy, bad ass I guess. I don't know if I like it, but she sounds like a good time. But then Angela. She's sweet, kind, pretty and-_

He shook the thoughts of Angela out of his head because he knew that he couldn't think about her right now. Her and Angela were over and it was for her own good, "So what should we do?" He looked toward her group of friends, "Oh I'm Dustin by the way."

"They know," Ivy smirked, "Let's head to the back of the club."

Dustin raised his eyebrow in curiosity, "Why?"

She laughed at him, "Oh gosh you're so naive. Just follow me."

The group walked with her so he followed them blindly. Once they made their way to the back of the club, they all took a seat. They were in a wide circle and Dustin raised his eyebrow, "Is this some type of pow wow?"

The group laughed. A red head kid with pimples on his face shrugged his shoulders, "We just come here to chill bro." He pulled out a familiar substance and looked at Dustin, "Want some."

Weed.

He knew it was weed, he could smell the stench from a mile away. It smelled like arm pits to him, but some of his friends told him that once you get over the smell it's good. Dustin knew that weed wasn't the worst drug out there, and it didn't seem to dangerous but yet he had never tried it. He knew that if you smoked weed all the time it could cause you to become forgetful. People said that it made you calm, and it did because it killed most of your brain cells. Dustin didn't want to get caught up in that. As much as people called him a bad boy, he was just a sim with a few problems.

"Nah bro I'm good," he finally said.

"Oh come on Dustin. Have some fun it's just a little weed."

"I just don't think it's a good idea alright?"

"Don't be a wimp. Everyone knows weed doesn't do anything?" she told him as she batted her dark eyelashes.

He was about to refuse again when the pressure got to him. Everyone was staring at him, and he didn't want to seem like he wasn't cool. He shrugged his shoulders but inside he was freaking out, "Alright."

He smoked some weed and it didn't take too long for him to get high. While mostly everyone else was calm, he was seeing the world differently. He felt free, alive. He laughed at things that weren't funny and made himself look like a complete idiot. It was strange that weed had the opposite effect for him, but it did. The music from the bar was so lout that you could hear it from outside. Dustin got up and started dancing and the group laughed at him. Ivy danced with him and it didn't take too long for her to lock lips with him. She kissed him and he didn't stop her. He wrapped his hands around her waist and she threw her arms over his neck. Before long they were having a full on make-out session. The teens whistled at Dustin and Ivy, and in that moment he felt like it was the best day of his life, like nothing could ever go wrong.

* * *

Beau returned home after a long day of school. He was tired from most of the work they assigned him but he loved school. He had good grades but he was also happy to see Lucy there. Lucy was his best friend although he'd never admit to the guys. They were like partners in crime. They always pulled pranks on the teachers and never got in trouble for it. Beau made his way into his brothers room. They shared a double bed and both of them wanted their space but he admired how Dustin never complained. Beau looked up to his brother Dustin because he was cool about everything, responsible, and he never complained. He was strong in Beau's eyes, and he wished that his mother could see him the way he did.

Interrupting his thought about his brother, he heard puking and ran over to the bathroom to see his mom throwing up. He knew she wasn't pregnant because he'd taken notice of the baby in the crib, "Are you ok?"

She flushed the toilet, washed her hands, and brushed her teeth. She was fine but then all of the sudden something seemed to go off in her brain. She turned to Beau and smiled, not recognizing that it was her own son, "Hey Skip. Shouldn't you be at work?"

Fear.

Beau immediately felt fear. Usually when this happened to his mom, Dustin was here to help but now he had to do something. This was his time to be strong for his family, and he wouldn't fail them. He remembered her pills being up in the cabinet and he immediately got an idea. He cringed knowing he would have to play along.

I had a day off," he said, looking toward the ground.

"That's great honey! Now we can spend it together. I love you Skip. Oh, can you check on the baby?" she said in a sweet tone. It made Beau miss having a dad. He wished with all of his heart that Skip could just come back and save them all, but he knew it would never happened. Skip was dead and he would just have to accept that. Beau looked over the newborn baby who was sleeping peacefully, "He looks great."

She smiled.

"Did you take your pills?" he asked.

"My pills? What pills dear?"

He sighed and ran over to get them. He grabbed the stool from under the cabinet then reached for the bottle of pills. He shook it, then scrunched his face up. They were all gone. _Oh crap._ He started to panic, what the heck was he supposed to do now?

"We have to get to the doctors!"

Brandi wasn't listening to him though. She was going through a series of events that happened when Skip was alive. A shot of pain surged through her and she screamed. He ran over to her, wondering what was wrong. He asked her numerous times but she wouldn't answer. All she could see was the scene in front of her, and unfortunately it was one that Beau couldn't see or help her with.

"How could you leave me like this! Come back please, come back! I love you! I wasn't with him Skip! I love you!" she cried.

She was in her own little word and Beau knew that it was most likely some fight she had with Skip. He couldn't help her. The baby began to cry and everything was building up to the point where Beau wanted to explode. He picked Ty up and tried to quiet him down but then Brandi started to cry as well. Beau almost felt like crying himself, but he couldn't.

"Skip please!" she cried, and before Beau could blink she ran to the kitchen and took out a sharp knife. She started cutting herself and Beau screamed so loud that he was surprised the baby didn't cry. He almost dropped Ty as he put him in the crib. He ran over to his mother as the blood rushed down her wrist, "MOM!" He started freaking out as he grabbed a napkin and wrapped it around her wrist. The blood seeped through the napkin and he looked toward his mom with all the concern in the world. He groaned as he looked for her phone. She didn't have Dr. Burb on her contacts look so he looked for someone else. He called up Mr. Dreamer and prayed to Wright that he would pick up.

"Darren! No this is Beau. Look my mom needs to get to the hospital...What? No she's not having another baby! She cut her wrist...Why? Because she's sick look I don't have time to play 21 questions just get down here!" he screamed, then hung up.

"We have to go mom," he said.

"Skip?"

Her face softened as she realized that it wasn't skip, "Wait..Beau?" She looked down at her wrist that was dripping with blood, "Oh shit. I'm sorry Beau oh my gosh." She grabbed a rag and wrapped it around her wrist.

Beau felt relieved to see that his mom was back to normal. Tears fell down his eyes, "Mom?"

Brandi felt tears roll down her eyes as well, "Honey I'm so sorry. I need to go to the hospital. Did you call a taxi?"

There was a honking sound that answered her question. Beau grabbed Ty and made her way outside. Brandi followed him and her face grew hot when she saw who was in the taxi, "Darren?"

* * *

Daniel arrived by the time the Pleasant family was almost done with dinner. The room grew quiet as they watched him. His wife was glaring at him, and he felt his heart race. _Is she mad? Does she know about the affair? _

"Honey I'm home?" he chuckled nervously and walked over to his wife. He gave her a kiss on the cheek and she pushed him away. She stood up and pointed to his food, "Your dinner is on the counter. It god cold probably because I was waiting for you to get home."

She got up and heated the meal for him. Daniel looked toward his daughters in hopes that they would tell him what's wrong. They stayed silent, looking down at their meal in the process. He sighed and walked into the kitchen, hugging his wife from behind, "What's wrong honey?"

She wanted to cry into his shoulders. She wanted him to comfort her and tell her that everything was going to be ok but instead she scrunched her nose up, "Where have you been?"

"Just looking at local shops in Pleasantview."

"Why do you smell like perfume?"

"There were people walking around with perfume at the store, maybe it rubbed off on me," he smelled his own clothes. It did smell like perfume, Kaylnn's perfume, "I don't smell anything."

"And you didn't answer my phone calls because-"

"Honey we can discuss all that later. Just tell me what's going on. It has to be more than me not coming home on time," he said, rubbing her shoulders in the process.

She sighed as more tears fell down her face, "Coral's sick Daniel. She's in a coma."

He pulled her into a hug immediately, kissing her dark hair in the process, "Honey I'm so sorry." He really felt sorry for her, and he wanted to be there for her. Any chance of him telling her about his affair was gone at the moment. He couldn't tell her when she was going through so much.

* * *

Lilith and Angela were at dinner table when Lilith threw a meatball at Angela's face. Angela squeaked, "What the heck!"

"Come upstairs with me. Now," she said.

"Why couldn't you just tell me that without throwing a meatball at my face?"

She shrugged her shoulders, "That way was more fun. Now come on!"

Angela followed Lilith upstairs as she wiped the meatball sauce off of her face. They went inside Lilith's room and Angela scoffed, "Ew your room is so dark and ugly!"

Lilith rolled her eyes, "Yeah I didn't ask for your fucking input Angela. I called you in here to talk about dad. Did you notice anything different about him?"

She shook her head, "Nope. Same old dad."

"He didn't come home on time."

"He probably had to work extra."

"He smelled like perfume."

"No he didn't Lilith."

Lilith gave her a look and Angela sighed, "Look even if he did and you have some type of theory going on, you need to stay out of their business. We should be comforting mom right now. Coral is her mother, and our grandmother."

"Yeah Angela I know but dad is cheating on her. You're just going to let mom get played?"

"Look just stay out of it. Whatever happens with them they have to work through it on their own."

"I thought you were the good daughter."

"I am!"

"Then why don't you care about mom?"

"I do Lilith but if mom finds out something like this, not saying that it's true but if it was, she would divorce him. I don't want a divorced family and neither should you."

"So you care more about a social status then our dad cheating on mom?"

"Look you don't know the full story and neither do I so just stay out of it," she warned, then slammed the door as she walked out.

* * *

When Don returned him, his face looked pale and Cassandra noticed right away. She walked over to him and grabbed his cheeks, pulling him into a kiss. He returned the kiss halfheartedly and she raised an eyebrow at him, "Something wrong?"

He sighed as he grabbed her by the waist and kissed her again. He knew that after he told her what he needed to, it would be the last time he got a kiss from her. He grabbed her and led her up to her room. They sat on her bed and he looked her dead in the eye, "We need to talk."

"Alright. Talk."

"I did something bad and now I don't think our relationship is going to work out," he said.

"Whatever it is Don I love you so it won't matter," she told him.

"I know you love me Cassandra but I don't know if love will be enough because-"

She shook her head and put a finger to his lips, "I don't care about your past Don, I told you that."

"Cassandra...Nina's pregnant and it's my baby!" he blurted out and she froze.

She couldn't collect her thoughts, it seemed like everything was going in slow motion, "H-How? W-When? I just...no, no you're wrong! This can't be happening Don. How did this happen!" Tears started to fall from her eyes and he wanted to kiss her tears away but he just sat there, "I-I'm sorry."

"Oh my gosh. I just...I really can't believe this. We were supposed to be married and now...I just don't think this is going to work out."

"She's getting the baby deleted," he told her, and she scoffed at him, "And you think that's going to save your ass or something?"

"N-No not at all. I just...I don't know why I told you that. Look, I'm sorry. But you said no matter what-"

"This is just too big for me to handle Don. I have to think about it."

"It was just a mistake. A big mistake."

"Don I think you should go."

"Cassandra-"

"Please," she said in a painted tone, "Please just leave. Don't make this harder than it has to be. I need some time to think before the wedding."

He sighed as she pulled her hand away, her arms crossed over her chest. They both walked downstairs and she opened the door for him. He turned to say something but she closed the door on him. She fell to the floor, drawing her knees up to her chest. _How could this happen? And why now? He's my husband technically. He can't be having her baby he just can't._

Alexander stopped playing his piano as he walked over to her, "Hey sis. Why are you on the floor?"

She wiped the tears off her eyes and smiled at him, "Hey Alex. I'm going to go for a walk alright? I'll be back in fifteen minutes. I'll call Mary-Sue to watch you."

"Where's dad?"

"Dad's taking a little vacation."

* * *

Mortimer's body was filled with rage, and sadness as he watched what was happening to Bella and knew he couldn't do anything to stop it. He felt like he was in some type of nightmare where he would never wake up. Phoebe had to record what was happening because he couldn't bring himself to do it. Tears filled his eyes as he watched Bella being tormented.

_"Finally I have you. You're going to make good for this experiment of mine," Mr. Beaker told told her. His voice was dark and it frightened Bella. There was a certain fear in her eyes, but she hid it as best as she could with a stony cold glare. _

_"Why are you doing this? What the hell have I done to you?" she said, tears filling up her eyes._

_He laughed at her, "Bella. You're the most well known girl in sim world. You're married to an extremely rich lad. The mother of Pleasantview don't they sometimes call you? Well if I make clones of you here, then I'll be rich. Everyone in Strangetown will want a Bella. And then when I'm done using you, you can do whatever you want. If you're not dead of course."_

_"You're a sick bastard!" she spit on him._

_He angrily slapped her in the face repeatedly, trying to teach her some type of lesson. She buried her face in her hands as she tried to defend herself from the blows that were coming her way. He continued to hit her and when he stopped that, he would touch her so inappropriately, that she prayed to Will Wright that he would just die. _

Mortimer watched the scene and he wanted nothing more than to go over there and beat the crap out of that guy, "BELLA!" he screamed, but he knew she couldn't hear him. Tears ran down his own eyes. He wanted to run over there and kill that sick bastard. Phoebe finished tapping the scene. She looked over at Mortimer, "I know it hurts but these sick people are going to go jail or be killed for what they've done to her."

"My Bella," he gasped, suddenly losing oxygen.

"Oh gosh please stop crying! Mortimer you're shaking, this isn't good," Phoebe tried to tell him, but she knew he wasn't listening.

A blood curdling scream ripped through his throat as he fell to the ground, "H-How could this happen Phoebe? How could I have not saved her?"

"Things just happen. We have to trust that Will Wright is protecting us," she whispered, rubbing his back in the process.

"She's safe now Mortimer," she continued to say.

* * *

As days passed by the collected more and more evidence. The worst part was seeing what Bella had to go through. But when they finally had what they needed Phoebe turned to look at him, "Are you ready to go home? To tell the court what really happened to Bella?"

He nodded. The energy had been sucked out of him, "I'm ready."

She transported him home and they stared at each other for what seemed to be an eternity, "Mortimer, my job is done here. I'm sorry for what you had to see but I'm glad that I was there to help you and it was fun getting to know you."

"Likewise...don't be a stranger ok?"

She smiled, Ok."

There was a moment of silence before Phoebe grabbed Mortimer's shoulder and kissed him on the cheek, "Goodbye Mortimer."

And with that she flew on her broom and took off back to her home in Belladonna Cove.

_Stay tuned for more episodes._


	11. Episode 7PT3

**Brandi gets a shocking report from her doctor. Ivy realizes that her and Dustin will never be together. Mortimer returns home.**

**Sweet and Sour PT3**

"Brandi please take a seat," Dr. Burb said, and she did. Darren and Beau were sitting down in some stiff chairs that were further away. She sighed, she couldn't help but feel embarrassed knowing that they were sitting there, about to hear all of her problems.

Dr. Burb looked through several of her files before clearing his throat and staring up into Brandi's dark eyes, "Now as you know you have delirium syndrome which is causes you to suffer severe confusion and disorientation not to mention a relatively rapid onset and fluctuating in intensity and-"

Brandi put her hand in front of his face, motioning for him to stop. She glared at him, "Yes I know all of this already, can you just prescribe some more pills to me?"

He shuffled with some more files and cleared his throat again, "Well actually Ms. Broke, since your syndrome is so different I've teamed up with doctors from Veronaville, River Blossom Hills, and Belladonna Cove and we've created a new medication. We're willing to give you 70,00 simelions for trying this medicine out."

When Beau heard this, his jaw dropped to the floor. Darren didn't say anything, completely stunned.

"We could be rich mom!" he shouted, a wide smile on his face, "70,00 simelions! Oh my Wright that's a lot of money!"

Brandi sighed as she looked at her son, "Beau go wait outside with Ty."

"Are you going to take it?"

"_Maintenat dehors!" _she hissed, and he knew not to say anything else. He picked up the baby and quickly made his way out of the room. Brandi let out a frustrated sigh and ran a finger through her hair as she walked over to Darren, "You can go Darren. You have Dirk to look after and this really isn't your scene. This is my problem, not yours."

"I want to stay if that's ok with you," he said.

"Why?"

"Because right now you need someone. Dirk will be fine at home by himself for a little while. Just let me help you, if not as a boyfriend then at least a friend," he said, gently grabbing her hand. She looked down at the ground, then pulled her arm away. Right now she couldn't handle the whole romance thing.

"Fine, you can stay."

He smiled, "Cool."

They walked over to Dr. Burb and took a seat. Brandi eyed him with a serious face, "What's the catch on this new product?"

He seemed to play with his hands a lot as he looked at Brandi. It was a bad habit he had when he felt nervous, "We're not sure if the medicine will work. It could worsen the situation."

"Worsen it how?"

"It could worsen the brain damage and cause you to go into a coma and it could cause amnesia if it doesn't go right."

She looked at him with disgust, "And you want me to try this? I could die and you want me to just take a chance on my life! Can't you test it or something?"

Dr. Burb shook his head, "I'm sorry Ms. Broke, but there's a law against testing on animals here. Look, I know this is a hard thing to deal with, but I need an answer. Not now, but soon. You have a week to decide what you want to do. I know about current situation and this could really help your family-"

"My family is just fine," she said, glaring at him with so much anger on her face that she might explode.

"I'm sorry if I offended you but please think about it. Do you really want your son to have to take you to the hospital again?

She crossed her arms over her chest, "That really isn't any of your business."

He threw his hands up in the air, "I'm sorry! Now your old pills will be prescribed to you in the mean time but please feel free to call and let me know what you're going to do."

Brandi grabbed her bag and started walking out the door.

"Have a nice day Ms. Broke!" he shouted, and his eyes widened when he heard her mutter asshole underneath her breath.

* * *

Cassandra came back from her walk and she felt a little bitter. Walking gave her some time to think and it was a nice way to exercise. She unlocked the door and saw Mary-Sue smiling. She chatted with her for a while, and thanked her for watching Alexander. Mary-Sue then left to be with her own family. Before she could do anything else she heard the beautiful strumming of the piano and she knew it wasn't her brother because the songs were old. _Who could it be?_

She followed the sound of the piano when she saw her an elderly man sitting there, playing the piano with Alexander.

"Dad!" she shouted, running over to hug him as well. He returned the hug and gave her a kiss on the cheek.

"Where have you been!"

He started to think back to everything that he had seen and he shuddered, "Right now that doesn't matter. Is Don here? I need to talk to him."

She frowned, "No actually he's-"

The doorbell rang and she held a finger up, "Hold on."

She walked over to get the door, wondering who could be at the door when she hadn't invited anyone over.

"Don?"

Don gave her a small smile and handed her a package, "I know you said you needed space but my relatives told me to give that to you. I guess it's a little gift for our wedding. Or it was anyway."

She smiled a little as she received the package, "Thank you..."

"No problem. I guess I'll see you a-"

"Don, I need to speak with you. Come in," Mortimer interrupted, and Don was shocked. They never really spoke much even though he was getting married to her daughter.

"Uh, while you guys talk I'm going to start a meal for you daddy," she said, patting him on the back then heading to the kitchen.

Mortimer eyed Don and it took all of his will power not to reach over and strangle him. They made their way upstairs and took a seat. Don rubbed the back of his neck, nervous about being around Mortimer alone for the first time, "What's going on?"

He stared at Don with cold eyes, "I know."

"You know what?"

"Don't act dumb. I know that you were apart of the scheme to get rid of Bella. I know you helped in the death of my love," he said, feeling bitter tears fall down his face. His voice seemed to crack as he spoke to Don and he curled his fist up in anger.

Don's eyes widened, "Bella's really dead?"

Mortimer ignored his statement, "I HATE YOU! I HATE WHAT YOU'VE DONE! GET OUT OF MY HOUSE AND NEVER SPEAK TO MY DAUGHTER AGAIN YOU WORTHLESS PIECE OF S-"

"Dad!"

The sight of his son and daughter seemed to pull him out of his angry thoughts. He slumped down to the floor as tears fell down his face.

Cassandra turned to her brother, "Alex, why don't you go check on the food?"

"But dad's-"

"Now! Please Alex," she pleaded with him and he sighed as he made his way downstairs.

Cassandra ran over to Mortimer's side and hugged him, "Dad, if this is about Don getting Nina pregnant it's-"

Mortimer looked up at her, completely shocked, "He got Nina pregnant? You are definitely not marrying my daughter!"

"Dad that's my decision to make."

"He's a bad guy Cassandra," he said as he stared up at Don.

"Mortimer what I did in the past was wrong but please, just give me a second chance," he pleaded.

"I can't do that," he said, "I just can't. It's too much of a burden."

"Dad if I can handle him getting Nina pregnant then you're going to have to too. Everyone makes mistakes and I don't know if we'll get married but I have to figure it out on my own," she told him.

Mortimer rolled his eyes, "It's not about that Cassandra. Look Don, you need to go."

"Maybe it is best I go. Goodbye Cassandra," he said as he made his way downstairs and out the door. He couldn't help but feel angry with himself. He ran over to his car and kicked it, hurting his foot in the process, "Dammit!" He couldn't believe that Bella was gone and that it was partially his fault.

* * *

"Dad what are you talking about? If it's not about the pregnancy then what is it?"

Mortimer drew in shaky breaths, surprised he hadn't had a heart attack yet. He tried to stop himself from crying but he couldn't, "I-I don't want to talk about this right now."

"Dad! Please just talk to me! Tell me what's going on."

"She's dead baby. Your mother is dead," he wept and for a minute she couldn't process what he had said.

"What? W-What? No. No you're wrong! How do you? How would you?"

"He was is partially the reason that she's dead Cassandra. It was all planned," he said, and she started to cry.

* * *

When the dancing ended, Dustin was starting to get lightheaded. He had never taken weed before, and he was surprised by how it was affecting him. Everyone else was so calm, for some of the sims it seemed to do nothing to them, but for him, he felt sick suddenly. The group started to get worried about this. Ivy took a seat next to Dustin, who was holding his head and trying to get a grip on things.

"Relax Dustin," Ivy said, rubbing his back and feeling guilty about the entire situation. She turned the group, Maybe we should take him back home."

Dustin wasn't listening to anything they were saying. He was off in his own little world as he held his head in place.

One of the sims groaned, "Why did you bring that loser anyway?"

Ivy glared at the tanned skin sim, "Don't say shit about him alright? He's cool and I...care about him."

"Then why did you get him to do weed?"

"Excuse me?"

"You know that all you ever do with your boy toys is get them to relax by doing weed so you can wo-hoo with them. If you really wanted to be with him you should have just asked him out. You know as much as I do that any chance you have at a relationship is gone now. I mean come on Ivy, you're hot but you had to get him to do weed just so that he could make-out with you. Do you really think he likes you?" he pushed, and the group laughed.

"Shut the fuck up," she said, not wanting to admit that he had a point, "Someone call for a taxi."

One of the sims ran off to call for a taxi while she sat there and thought. She knew that her friend was right. Any chance she had with him was ruined but he did interested her a lot. She just wanted him to see that she was cool. Everyone thought he was the bad boy at Sim High, and she wanted him to see that she was far from a goody-two shoes, and help him loosen up a little bit.

"Man I'm fucking hungry," Dustin said, pulling Ivy out of her thoughts.

"You have the munchies," she stated in a bored tone, then pulled out some hard candy, "Eat this."

He sucked at the hard candy and smiles, "Thanks dude."

The taxi came and Ivy helped Dustin up. She stayed silent, unsure of what to say at that point. They made their way over to the taxi and touched his shoulder, "Dustin I'm sorry I brought you here and pressured you into trying weed. It's my thing, not yours. Gosh I should have never brought you here."

"I had fun though," he smiled, then pulled her into a hug. She returned it as she felt something go off in her stomach, "I guess I should savor this moment."

"Why?"

"Because after this you'll probably hate me. Once the high wears off, you'll start giving a fuck again and you'll realize that I messed you up."

"I doubt that. Today was the best day of my life!"

She shrugged, "It'll ware off in a few minutes anyway."

She waved goodbye to him and the taxi dropped him off at his house. By that time the high had almost worn off but he still had a little left in him. Regardless, he was happy to get out of the house for one day, but something Ivy said seemed to stick with him. _Once the high wears off, you'll start giving a fuck again and you'll realize that I messed you up._ Was she right about that?

Dustin opened the door to the smell of mac and cheese. He saw his mother cooking and meal and Beau was feeding Ty his bottle. His mom turned to see who had opened the door and some relief came to her, "Dustin! Where have you been?" She walked over to him and was about to reach for a hug when she smelled something she didn't like, "Gosh you stink."

"Gee thanks," he rolled his eyes and started heading to his room.

"Wait," she said in a tone that let Dustin know she was on to him, "It's more than just an I need to take a shower smell. Wait, have you been smoking weed!"

His high was gone, and he seemed to come back into reality, and just at the right time, "Mom, I don't want you to freak out. Yes, I did some weed but it was only a little bit and I didn't even want it, I just didn't want to look lame. I won't do it again."

Brandi had never been more disappointed in her son, "I can't believe you. I thought you were smarter than this. Dustin, you really let me down."

Those last four words seem to hit a spot in Dustin, "Mom! I just wanted one day off to relax and stop being stressed out. Today made me forget about this tiny space we live in, you wanting me to take tutoring, and I'm...I'm sorry but I don't regret what happened. I needed that."

"Go to your room."

"It was just one big mistake. And don't act like you're so high and mighty because all know you've made a ton of mistakes!"

"You know what Dustin I don't want to hear it. I needed you today. I was sick again and you know who came with me, huh? Darren, Beau, and Ty!"

Dustin felt guilty but he couldn't back down now, "Look I said I was freaking sorry but it's not my job to make sure you're ok."

"Oh please, I gave you the gift of life it's the _least_ you can do."

"I didn't ask you to have me, you chose that crap all on your own."

"Just go to your room Dustin. _Juste une decepton,_" she muttered under her breath and those words stuck with Dustin. For his mom to use French she had to be pretty mad. It was her first language but she only used it when she was angry. But he couldn't hide the anger her felt when she called him a disappointment. He felt like no one believed in him. He made his way to his room and slammed the door, then closed his eyes and prayed to Will Wright, _"Why did you give me this life? Why did you take my dad away? Why are you letting my family live like this. Will Wright, I hate you."_

A knock on the door forced Dustin to open his eyes. He didn't say anything but the door opened anyway and it was Beau. He walked over to Dustin and handed him a plate of food. Dustin put it to the side and looked up at his little brother, "Thanks."

"No problem bro," he said, "And Dustin?"

"Yeah?"

"You're not a disappointment. I love you, mom loves you, and Ty loves you too."

"I wish that were true," he sighed, "But thanks. I know you love me Beau and you're a good brother."

He shrugged, "You're always there for me. It's only fair that I'm here for you. Anyway moms just stressed because Dr. Burb wants to try a new medication but she doesn't want to take it because it's never been tested before. Or at least that's what Darren told me."

"Hold up, a new medication for her delirium?"

Beau nodded, "They're offering her 70,000 simelions for it Dustin!"

"What's the down side?"

"Darren told me that it could make it worse as in...death," he gulped.

"I'm sorry I wasn't there bro," he said, and Beau shrugged his shoulders, "It's ok. You don't have to be there all the time Dustin. Sometimes you need a break too."

He laughed, "Why can't mom be like you?"

_Stay tuned for more episodes! __  
_


	12. Episode 8

**Dustin tries to gain his mothers trust back. Angela's plan for Lilith and Dirk to get back together doesn't end well. Dirk realizes the reason he got with Lilith in the first place. The Goth family is pressured by news reporters when Mortimer makes the statement about knowing who killed Bella. Don decides to support Nina no matter what he decides to do with the baby.**

**Blast from the Past: Episode 8**

_"Go Dustin! Kick the ball!" his mother shouted as he gave her a toothless grin and kicked the ball to one of his neighborhood friends. They continued playing as Angela skipped toward them, wearing a new pink dress that Dustin thought suited her well._

_"Hey Angela," he hiccuped ; he had always gotten nervous around her._

_"Hey Dustin! May I play?" she asked politely._

"_Girly girls aren't allowed to play!" his friend sneered and Dustin frowned at him, "Hey, she's my best friend! You take that back."_

"_Are you just as girly as her then?" he teased, and Dustin rushed toward him and tackled him to the ground. He punched him in the face and they continued to roll around in the ground. Her mother ran towards them and pulled them away, "Hey! Hey stop that!"_

_Angela started to cry and Brandi looked toward both of the boys with a disapproving face, "What's going on here?"_

"_He started it!" both of the boys said.__  
_

"_No mommy he started it! He was making fun of Angela," he shouted and Brandi hushed the two boys, "Alright, alright. Why don't we go inside Dustin and you too __Angela come on. Skip's making brownies." _

_She then looked at the other boy, "And you, head back home before I call your mother up and tell her what happened." _

_The boy ran off without another word. When they got inside Skip was making brownies and Angela hugged Dustin, "Thanks for sticking up for me. You're my best friend." _

_And since that day, he had always stuck up for Angela. _

BEEP! BEEP!

Dustin awoke to to the sound of his annoying alarm clock. He smashed the alarm clock angrily and yawned as he stretched his arms and legs. Beau was already up, changing into his clothes for school. He made his way to the bathroom as he thought about his dream. It was so much easier when he was little, when his dad was alive, and when him and Angela were best friends. But he knew that thinking back on the past wouldn't resolve anything, and somehow he had to deal with it.

He threw on some clothes and sneakers after brushing his teeth and washing his face. He made his way over to his brothers crib when he heard him crying. He picked him up and changed his diaper, then washed his hands and made his way into the kitchen.

"Breakfast is ready," his mother muttered. Beau was sitting down as she smiled and handed him a plate of food. She placed Dustin's food on the table and when she looked up at him she sighed. He suddenly wondered if his mother was still mad at him. He rolled his eyes as he looked at his mother, "Mom?"

"What?" she hissed. When she turned toward him again she noticed that she looked exhausted. She looked like she had just run a mile. There were bags under her eyes and her hair was a sweaty mess. His facial expression softened and for a moment he felt sorry for her. He swallowed up his pride, "I'm sorry."

"Are you?"

"Mom, I made a mistake. I'll never smoke weed again. Just please, forgive me. I hate arguing with you," he admitted.

She gave him a sad smile, "Me too. I..I forgive you Dustin I just don't understand why you do all of this."

They all took a seat and started eating and Dustin let out another sigh, "Because mom, dad died and unlike you I don't know how to deal with it. He was my rock and now it's like I don't know who I am."

She grabbed his hand, "I'm sorry honey. I know it's been hard on all of us but just, try to be a good kid ok?"

"Yeah alright."

He was almost done eating when he heard the sound of the bus. He got up and grabbed his bag, then made his way to school, Beau following him out the door.

"Dustin!"

"Yeah?"

"Make sure you go to that tutoring session after school."

He rolled his eyes, "Fine."

He walked out the door and muttered a cuss word under his breath as he entered the bus with his brother Beau.

* * *

It was a typical day at Sim High for all the students and teachers there. But Angela and Lilith weren't themselves that day. They usually never talked at school, but Angela wanted to help.

"Angela! Let's just let it go. This is never going to work," she hissed and Angela pushed her outside the girl's bathroom.

"Lilith stop! You look great!" she said, and Lilith scowled, "I'm wearing a plaid skirt, a white blouse and glasses. I don't even wear glasses Angela!"

"But you look like a little school girl. He'll see how smart and pretty you are. Wait let me check if your pig tails are uneven," she said, examining them closely.

Lilith smacked Angela in the arm, "I'm not doing it!"

"You are! Don't forget to talk to him about colleges, and politics. Just go!" she urged.

Lilith sighed as she made her way over to Dirk's locker. He was standing there with his friend Sophie and Lilith tried to hide her jealousy. She smirked as he turned around and his eyes practically popped out of his sockets, "Lilith?"

"That's my name."

Sophie looked back and forth at the two, then cleared her throat, "I'll see you later Dirk."

"Um hey Lilith. I'm just curious is there some type of play going on today?"

"No," she rolled her eyes, "And even if there was I wouldn't be in it. I hate plays."

She heard Angela talk into her secret mike that was in her ear, "I-I mean plays are great. Especially history plays. Like the one about Admy Landgraab."

He chuckled, "You mean Admiral Landgraab?"

"Right! That's exactly what I meant."

"I thought you hated history though."

She shrugged her shoulders, "I guess some things change."

"Yeah I guess but you're-"

"So I'm thinking of going to Academia Le Tour," she blurted out, and he was shocked.

"Wow Lilith that's great but you would have had to have straight A's starting from as early as 6th grade," he informed her, "That's one of the reasons I'm going to Sim State University."

"Oh," she said as she scanned her brain for more intelligent topics, "So I-"

She threw her hands up in the air, completely defeated, "Ok I give up! Just go to your stupid college with Sophia. I can't do this."

She was about to walk away when Dirk grabbed her arm, "What are you talking about?"

She sighed, taking off her ugly glasses, "Look Dirk, I like you a lot but I can't change for you. Maybe it was good that you broke up with me because I can't be the type of girl you want. I'm not book smart. I hate history, and plays. I think they're boring and I don't give a fuck about college. I want to make a living singing, or maybe join the slacker career. I like black clothes. I like being independent and I HATE school. I don't even know why I even thought of changing."

"Lilith-"

"No just forget it," she pressed the mike in her ear a little closer to make sure Angela could hear her, "I hope you're hearing this Angela! I'd rather be me than change for some guy any day."

She then turned to Dirk, "I guess this is really it. Have a nice life Dirk."

He watched her walk away and suddenly he began to miss her. Everything that Lilith stated about her, was what attracted him the most. She was different, a challenge. He could settle for a girl like Sophia, who cared about his education as much as he did. A girl who was as smart as him, and cared about politics and wore plaid everyday. But he didn't want that girl. Those girls were easy, Lilith wasn't.

* * *

Angela was completely stunned when she heard everything. She had to admit that maybe Lilith was right. Maybe it's better to be yourself then change for some guy. She started to think about her and Dustin. Maybe it was good that they broke up too. Maybe she could find someone else who accepted her for her. As she thought of that, Dustin tapped her on the shoulder and she jumped, "Oh gosh you scared me!"

He chuckled a little, "I'm sorry. Uh, how are you Angela? I feel like I haven't talked to you in a while."

She crossed her arms over her chest, "I'm fine Dustin. Actually I'm good, better than good even. Great! And if you came here to win me back it's too late."

"But I just-"

"I'm a great girl Dustin! I'm smart, loving, kind, helpful. I'm polite and I'm freaking popular. But if you don't want that, if this isn't real enough for you then fine, but I'm not changing, not for you or anyone," she said proudly.

He laughed as he threw his hands up in the air, "I totally understand Angela. I just came to ask where I could sign up for tutoring."

She stepped back awkwardly and looked at the ground, completely embarrassed, "Oh um just forget all that then! It was really just rambling!" Her face was turning red and Dustin thought she was adorable, "The tutoring section is to the left. Inside the office."

"Thanks," he smiled.

"No problem."

"Oh and Angela?"

She looked up at him, "Yeah?"

"That was a great speech. Really cute," he smirked and she grew even redder. She pushed him playfully and giggled, "Shut up Dustin!"

"So I'll see you around?"

"Yeah, I guess you will."

* * *

By 12:00 Brandi was exhausted with taking care of the baby and cleaning up. She was happy that she could just relax for a few hours since the house was clean and the baby was sleeping. She was just about to close her eyes when the phone rang. She groaned, expecting it to be Darren or Nina. She contemplated even answering the phone but she sighed and picked it up, "What?"

"This is Dr. Burb. Is this Ms. Broke?"

Her eyes widened, "Yes, this is she."

"How are you?"

She rolled her eyes, realizing what this was about, "I'm fine; my** old** pills are working just fine."

"That's great but you know they never last for too long. Have you given any thought about taking the new pills?"

She remained silent.

"Hello?"

"What?"

"Ms. Broke I understand how you're feeling right now about taking a dangerous step like this but if this works, you don't have to worry about your sickness anymore. And you'll have money."

"Yeah and if it doesn't work I could die and leave my three children alone with no one to care for them! Ty would be taken to social services. Of course I'm also thinking of the good side to this but the good doesn't seem to outweigh the bad. So sorry if I don't exactly have an answer for you right now!"

"Just please continue to think about it and let me know you're answer. There's no reward if there's no risk. This could be an opportunity Will Wright is giving you for a better life."

She was torn. There were so many things that she had to think about but she suddenly knew what her decision was, "Dr. Burb?"

"Yes?"

"I've made up my mind."

* * *

He sent her multiple text messages, phone calls, and emails, but Cassandra didn't answer any of them. She didn't want to speak to him. She stayed frozen on the couch all night. After Mortimer explained everything she couldn't help but have nightmares of what her mother had gone through. She refused to see the tape that he had, not sure if she could bear it at the moment. Alex continually asked her and her father what was wrong, but they didn't let him know. He didn't remember much of his mother, but she wanted the few memories he had for her to be good, not horrible. And she especially didn't want him to have the images that were stuck in her mind. She just couldn't believe, "H-How?" She cried over and over again but her crying didn't help.

Mortimer called an attorney and they went over the case. The attorney listened to the entire story and let him know that she would do everything in her power to make sure they won. She also stated that there could be some type of evidence used against them despite the fact that they had all of it on tape. She ran him through a number of questions he would be asked in court and told him to make sure he told the entire truth, and nothing but that. Unfortunately as they went over the case, some news reporters found out. Now Mortimer was getting out of the car with his son when a bunch of reporters ambushed him.

Mary-Sue was in front of them all. She was the top reporter and as she held the mike to her hands she looked at Mortimer eagerly, "Mortimer can you explain the death of Bella? Who was involved? How do you know? How is Cassandra taking it?"

Mortimer glared angrily at Mary-Sue, "Cassandra is your best friend Mary! How could you do this?"

She looked at him with a guilty expression, "It's my job Mr. Goth. I'm sorry."

He rolled his eyes as he pushed through the reporters and latched onto his son, "Just go away! All of you go away!"

But of course they didn't go away. They never did. Another reporter with dark skin and brown hair looked over at his son, "Alexander Goth correct? How do you feel about your mother's death?"

His heart sank as he looked from his father to the reporter, "My mother's dead?"

"Alex get inside. They don't know what they're talking about alright?" He pushed his child inside and looked at all of the reporters, his face turning red, "This isn't some type of show! It's my life and my families life! You're hurting an innocent child! You sick bastards!"

He slammed the door shut, feeling completely overwhelmed. The stress of the case caused him to the fall to the floor. He started to cry, and his body shook with rage. Cassandra ran over to her father and held him close to her. She hugged him and told him it would be ok and she prayed to Will Wright that they would get justice.

* * *

One ring.

Two rings.

Three rings.

"Dammit!" Don slammed his phone inside his pocket and sighed. He wished that Cassandra would pick up but he knew that she would hate him forever because of what he did in the past. _All because I had to be a dick back then. And for what? For money?_

He shook the thoughts out of his head and tried to calm himself down as he knocked on Nina's door. Nina opened the door and rolled her eyes at Don. He forced a smile. _Despite the pregnancy, she looks pretty hot today._

"What do you want Don? I'm busy!"

The sound of her voice drew his attention back to her face instead of her body. He cleared his throat, "I want to be apart of my child's life."

"I told you I'm getting the baby deleted!"

"But-"

"Why don't you go live happily ever after with Cassandra?" she pushed, sighing as she ran another finger through her hair. She hated that he made her feel this way. That despite all the crap that was happening to her, she still liked him, maybe even loved him. She didn't want him to want Cassandra, she wanted him to want her. He was that one guy that she kept coming back to. She didn't just wo-hoo with him one night and leave like the rest of them. She cared about him, and she hated herself for it.

"Look Nina I need someone right now."

"Why?"

"Because...I screwed up when I was younger. I played with everyone's heart and now I just want to make things right. But I can't make it right if people don't give me a chance. Cassandra hates me. Do I still love her? Maybe, but we will never be together because of what I did in the past. I just need someone right now. I need a friend who can forgive me for all the crap that I did back then and understand that I'm changing. And if you're getting the baby deleted...then I want to be there with you for that too. So can we just be friends right now?"

Speechless.

For the first time in a while Nina didn't know what to say or have any rude remarks. She huffed, "Don is this some kind of joke. Why are you doing this? Why are you acting so nice? For as long as I've known you you've never given a fuck and now you just suddenly do?"

"It took me being married for the first time to realize that I needed to change and I'm not saying it's going to be perfect. I'm still going to do some bad things along the way but I'm trying and I just need someone to trust me. Can we just do this one thing together? And if you never want to see me again then fine."

She tried to hide the smile on her face but she couldn't, "One chance Don, but if you screw it up then I'm done."

He nodded, "Fair enough." He reached for her hand and she took it as they made their way outside.

_You vote!_

_Will Brandi take the pill? And will Don fall in love with Nina?_


	13. Episode 9

**Cassandra and Alexander meet Phoebe as they make their way to their first court appearance. Mary-Sue plans to woo Daniel over after finding out that he's cheating on her. Lilith takes interest in a school talent show. Nina contemplates if she's made the right decision about the baby and Darren supports Brandi in her decision on the pills.**

**Busy Sims: Episode 9 **

_One Week Later_

After endless days of practicing for the case, the time finally came for the Goth family to present their case in court. They make their way outside during a chilly Monday as they bundle up in long coats. Mortimer had already gone up to Alex's school personally to explain the situation to them. He knew they would let them go because he was the one who made the donations to their school and kept it running, not to mention they weren't going to give their most prized student an unexcused absence. Cassandra was the last one to get in the car. She gave a sad smile to Alexander, kissed him on the cheek and whispered, "Everything's going to be alright."

They started driving when Cassandra's phone rang.

**Caller ID: Don Lothario **

She rolled her eyes, of course it was Don again. She shook her head as she answered the phone, "What the hell do you want?"

"The case is today and I just want you to hear my side of the story before you get up there. Please," he pleaded.

"What do you have to explain Don? You helped in the death of my mom! The one we've been wondering about for years. That day I asked you to tell me who you really were, you didn't mention that you knew about the plan to take my mother away. I don't doubt that you've changed Don but I just can't trust you anymore. I called an attorney to file for our divorce. You can sign the form in jail!" she said, then hung up the phone, clenching her fist in anger.

* * *

Don sighed as he put his phone away. He knew nothing would ever change what he did and somehow he was just going to have to accept that him and Cassandra could never be friends again, much less married. The Taxi picked him up and drove him to the court house. He got in the car and sat next to Dina, who hadn't spoken a word to him since the case. He felt even more guilty as they got closer to the court house. There was nothing he could do now. He made a big mistake and if he didn't have some type of excuse he would have to deal with the consequences.

Dina sighed as she looked at Don, "Do you think we could win the case?"

"Maybe," he sighed, "But do you really think we deserve to?"

"Don I can't go to prison! I don't belong there."

"Anyone who's committed a crime belongs there Dina. Gees how can you still be such a-"

"A what?"

"A bitch."

"I'm not a bitch. Look just make sure you go along with whatever plan the attorney has for our alibi and we'll be fine."

"Whatever."

* * *

Nina paced around the room as she devoured a bag of chips. She couldn't help but feel nervousness for Dina and Don. _What if they went to jail? Dina couldn't handle a day in jail? She'd panic. And what about Don? Who was going to stay around and help take care of the baby if Don went to jail. He was a different person back then, maybe the judge will realize that. _She scoffed at her thoughts. She knew that the judges would not take it lightly on him, so she just prayed to Wright that he had a good attorney that could help him. She took a seat on the couch as she rubbed her tummy. She didn't know if it was the right thing deciding to keep the baby after all. _What if my baby grows up without a father? Maybe I should have deleted it. _But her decision was made and she had to deal with that. She forced herself to think about something else, anything else. She thought of her baby. What would she name him or her? What would their life be like assuming Don didn't go to jail? Would Don and her ever be a real couple? Or was he still hung up on Cassandra?

* * *

Mary-Sue was on her way to work when she got a phone call from her boss.

"Yes this is Mrs. Pleasant. Is something wrong?"

He laughed over the phone, "Quite the opposite actually. I'm sorry I had to call to tell you the good news but you've been promoted again!"

She smiled, "Oh my gosh! Really! Will Wright has really blessed me. Thank you so much! I'll work super hard. Starting with today."

"Today will be your new day off actually. And you're welcome Mrs. Pleasant. You've been doing a great job here. Now relax for the day. Goodbye."

"Again thank you sir, and goodbye."

She hung the phone up and smiled. Everything seemed to be falling in place. Then she rolled her eyes. _Yeah everything's falling in place expect for the fact that your mother is terribly sick. I always knew this time would come but how could I ever prepare myself for it?_ She felt herself getting emotional so she pulled her mind away from thoughts of her mother, but later decided that she would go to Veronaville to see her. It was only four hours by car. She could be back home by midnight, drink some coffee, and be ready for work. She grabbed her coat and her foot slid across some paper on the floor. She bent down to get it and saw just what it was.

Daniel and Kaylnn kissing in what seemed to be a photo booth.

At first realization didn't hit her, but when it did she forced herself not to cry. She just sighed, knowing that in the back of her head she always suspected that something was going on between the two of them. She never wanted to believe it but now the evidence was staring right at her. She wasn't ready for something like this. She wasn't ready to give up her family, her life, all because he cheated. She planned to woo him over, to show him that there was still a spark between them and he didn't need a younger sim like Kaylnn to fulfill his needs. Yet, she couldn't help but feel angry. After everything she did for the family, and he still went out and cheated.

Interrupting her was the opening of the front door. It was Daniel and she wondered why he was coming home so early. Her first instinct was to slap him right across his cheating face, but she didn't. She curled her fists up and forced a smile, "Why are you home so early?"

He sighed, "I got demoted."

She honestly felt bad for him, but she knew that this would be the perfect time to woo him over. She walked over to him and hugged him and she noticed how he stiffened at her touch, not expecting a hug from his wife who was always working.

"I'm really sorry to hear that Daniel."

"Yeah, apparently I just wasn't serious about the job. I mean what type of bull shit is that? He just wanted to give his best friend the job over me. Ridiculous."

She patted him on the back, "You can work your way back up to do the top. What you need to do is get your mind off of things."

She looked at him in a flirtatious way but he didn't seem to notice. He hung up his coat and looked over at her, shrugging his shoulders, "I wish I could. But when I go back to work I'll just keep seeing his face."

"But you're not at work now are you?"

He shook his head, "No. What are you getting at?"

She smirked, "I'm going to help you get your mind off of things. Then we can visit my mother."

He opened his mouth to say something but she put a finger on his lips, "Ssh! Don't think, just do."

She grabbed his hand and led him into their bedroom.

* * *

It was another boring Monday at Sim High.

Lilith made her way into the school hallway after hearing the bell ring that signaled the end of class. She had a scowl on her face because it was Monday, the most hated day of the week for her. Sim High was full of stuck up kids, stupid cliques, and teachers who always seemed to think their subject was above everyone else's, and on Monday's all of that seemed to really get on her nerves, even more so than usual. She walked alone, heading over to her locker. Dustin was no where in sight, and it wasn't like she had anyone else to talk to. As she headed to her locker she noticed a signup sheet for something that sparked her interested.

**Sim High is hosting their annual talent show. Come show your skills. Whether you can play an instrument, sing, dance, or perform comedy, Sim High's talent show is the thing for you! **

Lilith smirked. Singing was one thing that she knew she could do better than most people, even Angela. She sang all the time. In the shower, in her room, sometimes even in her sleep. People said that Angela had the voice of an angel but she was nothing compared to Lilith. People just never took the time to notice Lilith's singing. She was in the middle of contemplating if she should sign up considering she never did anything at the school, when someone tapped her on the shoulder.

She turned around to see a blonde haired girl with pig tails and a shirt that obviously was too small for her. She was wearing short-shorts and sandals that Lilith was sure didn't fit into the dress code, but since she was a cheerleader she could get away with anything. Makeup was plastered over her face, and to Lilith it seemed to be all in the wrong places, but she wouldn't judge, "Something you need?"

"I just saw you eyeing the sign up sheet. Are you going to sign up?"

Lilith shrugged her shoulders, "I'm not sure yet. I was thinking that maybe I-"

"Let me give you some advice goth freak. Don't sign up."

Lilith eyed the girl up and down in disgust. She immediately recognized the girl as one of Angela's friends. What was her name? _Tosha! Right._ She crossed her arms over her chest and pushed her weight to the right side of her body, "Look you cheer slut, I didn't ask for your advice."

"Well I'm giving it to you anyway. Your sister is also trying out and I'm going to sing with her, so you better drop out now before you embarrass yourself and give everyone another reason to like your sister better than you."

That was it! She wanted more than anything to reach over and grab her hair and throw her across the hall, "Don't you worry about me I'll be just fine."

Lilith grabbed the pen angrily as she scribbled her name onto the sign up sheet.

"Well good luck. Because trust me you'll need it."

"Yeah we'll see about that. You'll be the one crying when I beat you."

She shrugged her shoulders, "Whatever helps you sleep at night boo."

She skipped off without another word and Lilith rolled her eyes, "Bitch."

She continued making her way to her locker when she bumped into Dirk. _Awkward!_

"My bad, didn't see you there," she shrugged. When he didn't say anything she continued to walk away but he grabbed her arm, "Wait! I uh, over heard a little of that back there and I think you'll do great in the talent show."

"We'll see," she shrugged, then went to her locker. She didn't have time to think about Dirk or how nice he was suddenly being. The talent show was buzzing through her brain. It was going to be on Friday and she had no idea what she wanted to sing.

* * *

At school, Lucy was a completed mess. She couldn't help but think of Coral. _I wonder how long she has until she...No, no I can't think like that. I wonder what she's sick with though? Maybe mommy could bring her some soup or something. She has to get better somehow. She just has to._

"Aye Lucy!"

The sound of Beau's voice interrupted her from her thoughts. She snapped back into reality as she looked up at him, "What?"

"I said tag your it but you never chased me."

She sighed, "I don't feel like playing tag today Beau."

He frowned, "What's wrong?"

"It's nothing.

"I'm your best friend. You can tell me."

She drew circles in the sand as he sighed and took a seat next to her, "Well...my grandma's sick and I don't know what's wrong."

"How bad is it?"

"Really bad. She could," she swallowed a lump in her throat, "Die."

He patted her on the back, "Don't worry Lucy she'll be ok. Just get her to a doctor."

"HEY BEAU! COME PLAY SOME FOOTBALL WITH US!" one of Beau's friend screamed.

"Are you going to be ok?"

She smiled at him, "Yeah, I'll be fine. You go play."

He patted her on the knee and took off.

* * *

"Are you sure about this?"

Brandi nodded as she squeezed his hand. He leaned into her and planted a kiss on her lips, and they quickly let go. They turned back to Dr. Burb and Brandi looked at him with determined eyes, "I want to take the pill."

A million worries and fears seemed to buzz through her head. She wasn't sure if it was the right decision, but she was trying to think of her children. She just prayed to Will Wright that it would all work out.

Dr. Burb flashed his pearly white teeth at her, and shook her hand. He was beyond happy that she had accepted the offer, "Thank you so much Ms. Broke. You will not regret this I promise. And this could open up opportunities for others who are going through what you are."

"Just promise me that word won't get out about the pills. You know Pleasantview is the town of gossip."

He nodded, "I understand. I won't even let my wife know ok?

She nodded, "Thank you Dr. Burb."

He took out a bottle of the newest pills and handed her half the cash, "I want a week worth of reports and I will be calling you in the hospital for some random check ups to see if you are taking your pills. When I'm sure that you are, you'll receive all of the money."

She shrugged, it was only fair, "Deal."

Even when she was handed half the cash her eyes seemed to light up. She thought of what her kids would be able to do with it. She wondered how much she would be able to make if she continued to save money. And after Ty became a toddler she could start working again. She thought of how they would all be able to go to college possibly, and all she had to do was take the pills.

"So I want to schedule an appointment with you in a few days to see how it's going. You need to take two pills every two days. One in the morning with a meal, one at night with the meal. Make sure you drink a lot of water when you first take it. There's a possibility of it making your mouth dry. Please call immediately if you start to feel dizzy, get mild or extreme headaches, if your stomach starts to hurt, or if you just have a question," he informed her, then handed her a notebook.

"What's this?"

"A notebook so that you can record everything that happens to you while taking the pill. If you start feeling depressed, hyper, whatever, you just write it in the notebook and we'll collect it at the end of the week. We're going to do this for at least a year so that we can see how the pill has helped the progression in your syndrome," he told her.

She nodded, "Alright."

"Ms. Broke?"

"Yes?"

"I just want to thank you again. You're very brave for doing this. I can understand why you would want to say no to this but I can assure you that you're making the right decision."

In the back of her head she thought to herself that he didn't understand. That he would never understand until he was a single parent with no one to go back to, but instead she just forced a smile and said, "You're welcome."

She grabbed the pills and the put the money in her purse, planing to deposit it later. She head out of the hospital and Darren gently grabbed her hand. She felt the butterflies in her stomach as they walked outside and waited for a Taxi. Despite coming out of the hospital, she felt like things were starting to become normal for her and Darren. She looked over at him and smiled, "I never did thank you for being here with me."

He wrapped his hands around her waist and she blushed, "You don't need to. I _want _to be here."

She wrapped her arms around his neck, "Well in return if there's anything you need, just ask me."

The honking of the Taxi interrupted their talk and they made their inside the yellow car. Brandi tried to pay the driver but Darren ensured her that she had it, with what little money he had. He was about to pay for it when she smacked his hand away and gave the driver her money, knowing Darren didn't exactly have a lot.

"Brandi?"

"Yeah?"

"There is one thing."

"One thing?"

"Yeah, one thing I might need some help with."

"Oh...well what is it?"

He smiled, "I want to paint a portrait of you."

She was shocked by this. She gasped at him, then turned to look him in the eye, "Why me?"

"It just makes since. When I was with Darleen, my paintings were being sold everywhere. People started to know me but then she died. I fell into depression for years, and I tried to paint but nothing sold. I couldn't understand why. Then Cassandra came along. She started to become my inspiration and for a moment my paintings were back to how they were. But then she got married to Don."

"So what you're saying is that you have to be in a relationship or like someone to paint good?"

He shook his head, "What I'm saying is that my paintings always had one key element that made people want to buy it. Love."

She felt a lump start to grow in the back of her throat, "Love?"

"Exactly! And so I think my paintings will really sell if I can paint the sim that I-"

She held a hand up, "Darren please, don't say it. Please."

"Brandi-"

The Taxi pulled to a halt and she got out as fast as she could, but Darren caught up to her, "You can't love me!"

"Brandi I don't understand. You don't want me to love you?"

Silence.

"I can't figure you out if you don't talk to me."

She shook her head, "We agreed to date, not to fall in love! We just, we can't do this. We can't love each other."

"We can love each other if we want! The only thing stopping us is you!" he yelled, then sighed, "I'm sorry I shouldn't have yelled at-"

"My house is a block from here. I'll see you later."

_Stay tuned for more episodes. Hope everyone had a good Christmas._


	14. Episode 10PT1

**News about the court case spreads around Pleasantview like wildfire.**

**Wildfire PT 1: Episode 10**

"Are you guys ready to do this?"

Cassandra looked at their lawyer. Miss Bendett was said to be one of the best attorney's in the neighborhood. She just hoped that she would be able to win the case.

They all nodded and she smiled, "Good."

Miss Bendett had been prepping them for the court case because unlike most cases, she would not be the one asking them questions. She was to ask Don and Dina questions about what happened that night, while Don and Dina's attorney would question Mortimer, Cassandra, and Phoebe.

"Ok now Cassandra, they're going to try to get you to crack. Just be honest. Mortimer, they'll have their eyes on you. And your son won't even go up there. Now who has the tape?"

Behind all of them was an elderly sim who sparkled and shined with magic. She seemed as heavenly as an angel and she handed the attorney the tape.

"Thank you Phoebe, they're sure to call you up too. Now just relax. Stay honest and you should be fine. We've been over all of the questions."

Inside the court there were cameras rolling and Mortimer rolled his eyes at the sight. How could they just film sims like that? Like they were nothing but faces for their next show. He ignored it as the attorney went over some hard questions with them.

On the other side of the court Don and Dina were standing there with poker faces. Their attorney was Miss Copur was standing in front of them.

"Remember what I told you guys. We should be able to win this case despite what little evidence they have. But Don, you're going to have to really use your charm. Show the judges that you loved Cassandra and would never do anything to hurt her?"

"So lie?" he whispered harshly.

"Look, I'm here to win a case and so are you. That's why you called. If you're not on board with this then I'll just leave so you can be sentenced to death."

"I'm sorry. I-I'll do it."

She smiled, "Great."

The crowd broke out into a fit of whispers and debates about how would win the case when the judge hissed at them, "The meeting has been called to order at 11:45."

* * *

Brandi made her way inside the house, sighing as she thought about Darren. _What are you doing Brandi? This guy loves you and you're just blowing him off?_ When she got inside the house she saw Nina changing Ty's diaper. She gave a weak smile as she mumbled a hello to the redhead, who set Ty down in the crib and turned on the TV.

"Hey Brandi! How did it go?"

"Well...I took the pills. I have to check in with Dr. Burb every so often and write down how I'm feeling in this notebook," she told her.

"So what's wrong?"

"Nothing I just-"

The doorbell rang, interrupting her conversation. Nina went back to watching TV. Brandi opened the door to see that it was Darren and she was shocked, "Darren?"

"I wanted to just clear some things up is anyone-"

"Nina's here."

They made their way inside the house when Brandi noticed how involved Nina was with the TV, "What's going on? Is your favorite soap opera on?"

Nina rolled her eyes playfully at her friend, "They're _novellas _Brandi, and no. You didn't hear about what's going on today?"

She shook her head, moving away from Darren slightly and toward Nina, "No, what's going on?"

"Only the biggest buzz in Pleasantview right now. Mortimer's accusing Dina and Don of being apart of the death of Bella. Needless to say Mortimer and Dina's engagement is off," she said in a shaky breath. She wondered who they would be able to use as an alibi since Nina couldn't be apart of a case so big.

Brandi couldn't believe it. She turned to look at Darren and he shrugged his shoulders, already knowing what she was going to ask. Darren and Cassandra hadn't talked in what seemed like forever so he had no idea about the case. He secretly hoped Cassandra would win. He never trusted Don, in fact, he hated him.

* * *

"Do you promise to tell the whole truth and nothing but the truth so help you Wright?" the police officer asked as he eyed Don.

"I do."

Miss Bendett made her way towards Don, a plain expression plastered on her face. She studied him, and she could tell that deep down he was nervous but he didn't look like it.

"Mr. Lothario, can you tell us anything about your relationship with Dina?"

"I've known her since high-school. We've always been close friends and we worked together for a while."

"And what did your job or jobs consist of?"

He shrugged, "Common things. Mostly things in the slacker career."

"And did you ever do jobs out of the neighborhood?"

He drew in a breath, knowing where this was going, "Yes."

"And what did that job consist of?"

"We...delivered messages but we mostly just listened to orders."

"Is it true that this job was in StrangeTown?"

"For the most part, although we also worked in Veronaville for a while."

"Well it sounds like you guys must have been close to travel together. How long were you guys intimate?"

Miss Copur stood up from her seat, "OBJECTION YOUR HONOR! What does his relationship with Dina or his jobs have to do with the death of Bella?"

"Noted, please continue the case Miss Bendett."

She placed a hand up, "Actually, his jobs do have to do with the death of Bella your honor. He said he worked in StrangeTown, which is said to be where Bella was killed."

Miss Copur stood up again, "That's pure coincidence your honor, so neither Don nor Dina should be held accountable for where Bella was killed."

"Again, noted. Miss Bendett those statements will not be used against Don during the case. Proceed."

She turned her attention back to Don, "Mr. Lothario, how close were you to Bella Goth? If I'm correct you were one of the last people to see her before she was conveniently taken away by aliens, am I correct?"

"We were pretty close. She considered me like her son. I wanted to make sure I was friends with Cassandra's mother and father before marrying her."

"And did Mr. Goth appear to like you?"

"No, not exactly."

"And why do you think that was?"

"He didn't want his daughter to grow up. But Cassandra and I were in love."

"I see. And just what did you see the night Bella was taken away?"

He paused for a moment, but quickly recovered, "We were up on my balcony one night, just hanging out. I just wanted to thank her for letting me marry her daughter because it was said that I was a town player. She thanked me and then..."

"And then what Mr. Lothario?"

"And then she wanted to leave. Just as she was about to leave a giant saucer came up and we were both shocked. Somehow I got away but she couldn't, and it sucked her up. I was freaking out, I couldn't believe what was going on. And that was the last time I saw Bella."

She stared at him for what seemed like an eternity. Some of the audience believed what Don was saying, others didn't. But Miss Bendett knew that it was all up to the judge, "I'd like to call Dina to the stand."

* * *

"Wow..."

Mary and Daniel exchanged a look at each other. It was the first time that had wohooed in years. Daniel felt like she was aggressive, almost as if she was angry and it was something new for him. He liked it, but it was nothing compared to Kaylnn. Neither of them truly felt in love anymore, but they wouldn't admit it. Usually Mary would say something romantically cheesy, but this time, she fell blank. _I guess I'm really not in love with him anymore. But we've been together for so long. How could this happen._

He tried to force the thoughts about how he didn't love her out of his head. He kissed her again, then her jawline, then her neck. She pushed him away and he looked at her with curious eyes, "I'm going to take a shower before I head out to Veronaville."

"Maybe I'll take one with you," he smirked.

She shook her head, not finding the idea at all funny or enchanting, "Leave a note for the girls and I should be out of the shower in a little bit so you can take one too."

"Uh yeah sure," he said, a little shocked. He got dressed deciding that he didn't need a shower. He left a note for the girls when he noticed the TV in their room was on. He was just about to turn it off when something caught his eye. His eyes widened, it was the Goth family. But why were they at the court house. He continued watching it as Mary came out of the shower. She changed quickly then noticed that Daniel was watching something, "What is it Daniel?"

"It's the Goth family. Mortimer filed a court case against Don. He's accusing Don and Dina for the death of Bella!"

"Oh yeah, the case. I knew it was coming," she admitted.

He raised an eyebrow at her, "How?"

"Well my boss forced me to interview the Goth family after hearing Mortimer talk to an attorney about taking it to court. I just had no idea they would go as far as to tape them during the case," she said.

As they made their way outside and to Veronaville, all they could talk about was the case and their predictions on what would happen. Mary-Sue thought it was amusing that Daniel said he always had suspicions about Don because he seemed like a cheater. She wanted to shout at him that he was the same way but they were talking right now, and she didn't want to ruin it.

* * *

**C-**

Lilith gawked as she looked at her geometry teacher in disgust, "Mr. Cox what is this!"

"That's the grade you got on the geometry test for today. I have to say I'm pleased. You usually don't score that high," he told her, giving her a small smile.

"I worked my ass off for this test and I still got a C!"

He sighed, "Look Lilith. I've noticed a change in you and I'm glad you're trying to bring your grade up but it's going to take more than just studying for one test. You have to really understand the concepts. Come by after-school to get some tutoring and I'm sure I could help-"

She groaned, "You know what? Forget it. A C- is just fine."

She bawled her paper up and threw it in the trash as she made her way to the cafeteria for lunch. She was almost inside when she felt someone cover her eyes with their hands. She grabbed the persons hands and squeezed as hard as she could, forcing a yelp out of the person.

"OUCH! Dude! Really?"

Lilith smirked as she looked at Dustin, "Dustin! Hey."

"You couldn't just be normal and guess who it was right?"

She shrugged her shoulders, "That way is just no fun. What's up?"

"Didn't you hear about the Goth Court Case?"

"The Goth Court Case?"

"Yeah, that's what everyone's calling it."

"Never heard about it. I don't have any girlfriends here remember?"

"Oh right, well apparently some sim snuck into the teachers lounge and the TV was on and she saw Mortimer accusing that Don guy of killing Bella. She even got a video recording of part of the case. Can you believe it?"

Lilith shrugged her shoulders. She didn't get a chance to meet Bella, and if she did, she was too little to remember. She knew the entire story about Bella though and she knew that someone in the neighborhood was up to something. But as far as she was concerned, it had nothing to do with her. She continued to listen as Dustin talked about the case and when he was done they had gotten their lunch and took a seat. She turned her head, just in time to see Tosha making out with her new boyfriend George. _Gees, she was just with Rick. She just bounces from one sim to another._

"Ugh, I hate her," she said as she noticed Gordon taking a seat with them. She bit into her burrito as Gordon started eating his hamburger as if he'd been starving for several days. He waved to Lilith and Dustin who gave a half smile and waved back.

"Are you talking about the blonde girl with the pig tails?"

Lilith nodded.

"Oh, she's hot dude. Too bad she's so loose," he said, and Lilith smacked her on the arm, "Gross! She's not even pretty. Plus you can't downgrade from Angela to Tosha."

He shrugged his shoulders as he drank his milk, "So why do you hate her?"

"She's just a bitch. She pretty much went off on me in the hallway and told me that I wouldn't do good in the talent show. And it's not like I care what she thinks but she was just like, 'I'm singing with Angela _boo_.' And I was just like I don't give a fuck," she said.

He laughed, "She really called you boo?"

"Yeah!"

"Well prove that trick wrong then. What are you doing for the talent show?" he asked, watching Gordon have trouble sticking the straw into his apple juice.

"I'm singing. I'm just not sure what to do yet," she said, letting her mind wander, "Wait! That's it! I have the perfect song. I'm so ready for this."

Stopping the conversation was the sound of the ASB group. They stood up on a table as the students looked at them, "Attention! For those of you participating in the talent show, there has been a change in dates. We will be having a rally on Friday as well as a guest speaker from Link Crew club, so the best time to have the talent show would be tomorrow. We're sorry for the inconvenience and you can talk to the assistant principle or one of the talent show directors about dropping out but please don't be discouraged. Thank you and have a nice day."

Lilith practically spit her entire drink out of her mouth and Dustin laughed at her as he handed her a napkin.

"What happened I thought you were ready for this?"

She glared at him and he stopped laughing, "I am ready it's just. I thought I'd have some time to prepare!"

"You'll be fine."

From across the room, Angela, Meadow and Tosha were sitting together. Tosha was making out with her boyfriend and Randy was sitting next to Meadow, running a hand up and down her thigh. She ignored him as she turned to look at Angela, "So are you ready for the talent show?"

"Of course! We have our song prepared. We'll win."

"What about your sister? Is she a good singer."

She shrugged, "Yea but we'll beat her."

Inside she was freaking out though. Admittedly she didn't want her sister stealing her spotlight at the talent show, and she knew Lilith could sing but she didn't want to worry the girls.

* * *

_Stay tuned for more episodes. _


	15. Episode 10PT2

**As the case continues, things get intense. Mary-Sue sees the condition her mother is in and Darren and Brandi have a talk. Lilith and Dustin have a long conversation when the topic of Angela comes up.**

**Wildfire: Episode 10PT2**

Dina felt her palms become sweaty as she made her way over to the seat. The police officer looked at her and said, "Do you swear to tell the whole truth nothing but the truth, so help you Wright?"

"I do."

She took a seat and the lawyer looked at her. She felt uncomfortable as she looked her up and down with some type of anger inside of her.

"Ms. Catiline, what is your relationship towards Mortimer?"

"OBJECTION! Again, what does my clients relationship have to do with the death of Bella?"

"So stricken," she glared at Miss Bendett.

"No, I can answer this one. I am or was engaged to Mortimer. After the disappearance of Bella, I saw how heart broken he was and at first I wanted nothing more than to help him. I fell in love with him and we started dating."

"Hmm I see," she said, "Tell me Dina, what is your aspiration?"

She sucked in her cheeks, "Fortune."

"So you're a big fan of money correct?"

"OBJECTION! There are tons of sims with fortune aspirations."

Miss Bendett held a hand up, "Miss Copur you know very well that sims with fortune aspirations have strange wants. Like marrying a wealthy man for example."

"She's making accusations!"

"So noted. Miss Bendett please continue."

"What was your relationship towards Bella?

She shrugged, "I wasn't very close to her. Don spoke very well of her though, said she was a good mother to Cassandra."

"I have no further questions."

Dina faked a smile, and got up to take a seat back to her original place. Miss Copur stood up and glared at Miss Bendett as she passed her, "I'd like to call Cassandra to the stand."

Cassandra made her way up there, hoping that her nerves wouldn't get the best of her. She placed her hand on the Wright book and said, "I do."

"Miss Goth, has Don ever showed any type of suspicion since you guys got married?"

She paused for a moment, "He seemed a little secretive."

"Explain."

"Well, I talked to him one day since I knew that the entire town thought he was a player. He opened up to me a lot and proved that he loved me but then there were moments where he would just...walk away. I never understood it, and he recently started showing up to my house late when he was supposed to come over."

"And that's it?"

"That's all."

"Did Don ever seem like he hated your mother?"

She shook her head, "No, he seemed like he loved my mom. But Don is like that. He can make a lot of things seem to be what they aren't."

"Strike that from the evidence your honor. That's more of a personal statement if anything."

"So stricken, proceed."

They continued the case and Cassandra felt like she was breaking. She was relieved when Phoebe was called to the stand instead of her.

"Ms. Adams, how did you come in to contact with Mortimer?"

"He created a potion and it dropped of the floor. Somehow it summoned me and I knew he needed help finding a lost loved one."

"And what did you guys find?"

"Well, we found out that Loki Beaker had been experimenting on Bella Goth, ultimately causing her death. But Don and Dina come to play when we overhear that Don and Dina were apart of the experiment."

"And how did you find this out?"

"We traveled back in time."

The crowd laughed and Phoebe glared at them. She pointed a finger to the back of the room and some type of electricity came through her finger that startled everyone, "I a witch, I can surely time travel."

She cleared her throat, "Well it seems you have no evidence of this."

She smirked, "Actually I do."

She looked to Mortimer, who walked over and handed her the tape. She held it up, "This tape proves that Don and Dina were associated with the death of Bella."

Everyone was astonished by such a big statement. The judge grabbed the tape, "We'll have to decipher this and get back to you on it. We will call the meeting back to order in a hour!"

* * *

Mary and Daniel arrived in Veronaville after a few hours. Daniel grabbed Mary's hand, trying to support her as best as he could. She knocked on the door, expecting to only see Herb and ask him where the hospital with his mother in it was. But to her surprise, she saw Coral sitting on the couch watching TV.

"Mary! What a surprise. And Daniel, it's good to see you too," he said, opening the door for the couple.

"I thought mom was in a coma," she said as she looked over at her pale mother.

"She was. The doctors kept her for a few days and released her. She's been coming in and out of comas and the doctors are trying to figure out how to help her," he explained.

She nodded and when he saw tears coming to her eyes he reached over and hugged her. She hugged him back, feeling as if she never wanted to let go. Her and her adoptive parents were always close. They hardly got into fights about anything so losing someone so special to her was killing her. She took notice of the small house. It was very old school, but there was something about it that she loved. She made a mental note to come take some vacations over there soon. It was certainly a nice change from Pleasantview, where everyone knew everyone and drama began stir. She heard roomers of their beging many lovers quarrels out there, but she thought it was nothing compared to the crap that the Plesantview residents went through all the time.

"I'm cooking some lobster," Herb said as he made his way into the kitchen, "Daniel why don't you help me?"

He nodded, "Sure thing Herb." He turned to Mary, "This is a good time for you to talk to your mom one on one."

She nodded and he kissed her on the cheek then left to help Herb. She walked over to Coral and hugged her, "Hi mom."

"Mary! It's so good to see you," she said, her eyes barely open.

* * *

"There's just no way that they can get out of this one. If that tape holds key evidence like that witch says it does, then there's no way they're going to make it Brandi," she cried. She didn't want to be selfish but she was having a baby. What was her baby going to do without a father? And what was her sister going to do in jail? She couldn't handle jail.

Brandi sighed, "Things might work out. Don't stress yourself out. Maybe you should turn the TV off for now?"

She let out a shaky breath, "Maybe you're right. I think I just really need to go home and get some rest. I'm exhausted."

Brandi helped her get up on her feet and pulled her into a hug. She suddenly felt the baby kick and the two friends laughed. She waved to Nina, saying goodbye, "I'll call you later Nina. I hope everything works out."

"Yeah me too," she said, then shut the door.

When the door closed she was cuddling Ty as he rested in her arms. She looked up at Darren, who was standing there, both hands in his pockets. She tried to keep herself busy with the baby but that didn't work for very long.

"I gotta head out soon. Dirk gets out of school and he needs some help with an essay for his AP English class," he said as he stared at the dark haired sim.

"Kay."

He was almost about to walk out when he sighed, ran a hand through the back of his neck and looked back up at Brandi, "Before I leave I think we should talk."

She sighed, knowing what was coming next, "Look if you want to break up then just do it already ok? I can't be the girl you want who says I love you ever five minutes. It's just not realistic to me. I'm sorry."

"You know that the last thing I want to do is break up with you. But you keep trying to use your issues in the past as an excuse. I get it Brandi, it was hard after Skip. Don't you think it's hard for me too? You can't keep using the same excuse. It's...it's BS!"

She was shocked by this. She was surprised the baby hadn't woken up after his sudden burst of anger. She put the baby in the crib and hid her face with her hair that almost reached her chest now, "I'm not making excuses Darren. I'm telling you how it is!"

"Well I can't be the only one working in this relationship. I _love_ you Brandi. But if you can't see that then I can't make you. So when you want to talk to me, you can."

And with that he walked out the door, and suddenly Brandi had a lot of things to think about.

* * *

Mary and Daniel watched in the background as Herb took care of Coral. Daniel occasionally helped but Mary just sat there, thinking that that was what true love was. She knew that couples weren't always like that, but she had never seen Daniel look at her the way that Herb looked at Coral, even before they got married. She just wished that he loved her, and she loved him. But the truth of the matter was, they weren't in love anymore. And she didn't know if they ever had really been in love.

"Daniel can we talk?"

"Of course. What's up?

"Since high-school, we've been two completely different people. We were both popular but for different reasons. You were the start basketball player, and I was in every club imaginable, and to top that off I was one of the few smart cheerleaders. I remember when you first went out with me, and you just used me to do your homework. But I didn't mind because someone like you was looking at me."

"Yeah. I guess things change."

"Sometimes, and sometimes things never change. We continued our lives, and we tried to continue it together but I just...I don't think it's going to work out."

"Wait...are you breaking up with me?"

"I think I have to Daniel. And you don't have to pretend to care. I saw the picture of you and Kaylnn kissing."

"Mary I-"

She put a hand up, "It's fine I get it. I was angry before but right now I'm not. Maybe a little bitter but I'll get over it. The truth is I guess I really don't love you, and you don't love me. People who love each other don't cheat on each-other."

"But-"

"I just wanted to keep my perfect family. I wanted it to seem like everything was ok but it's not ok. I just sat here for hours watching Coral and Herb take care of each other. That's what true love is to me, and that's something we'll never have," she said, not realizing she was hurting him she continued, "It feels so good to to get that off my chest. Now we can be free from each other."

"So I was a burden?"

"No, I did love you at one point Daniel and I really do hope that some day we'll be friends but I will never be like Kaylnn, and that's the kind of girl you want. And you'll never be the kind of guy that I would want either. We're just too different," she explained.

He was forced into silence. He had never expected to be the one getting rejected, but maybe it was for the best, "So...are you saying you want a divorce?"

Tears started to fall down his eyes. Even though he knew that there relationship was going to end, they had been together for so long and he didn't realize what he was losing until she said she didn't want to be with him anymore. She was teary eyed as well but she refused to cry, this was what was best for her. She deserved someone who understood and loved her, even if she was getting old, "I'm saying that it would be best if we went our separate ways. I would love to work on our relationship but I don't think there's anything to work on. I can't change who I am and neither can you."

* * *

After-school, Lilith sat on the benches by herself. She was waiting for Angela to be done with cheer practice since she begged her to wait and walk home with her. She was on her phone, deleting some old messages that Dirk had sent her when she saw a kid with dirty blonde hair from the corner of her eye. She immediately knew it was Dustin.

"Hey Dustin!"

He turned around in every direction expect for the direction in which she was, completely confused.

She rolled her eyes but laughed as she waved a hand, "Over here!"

He locked eyes with her and laughed, "Sorry I didn't see you there. Wait why are you still here?"

"I'm walking home with Angela today but she has cheer practice so...yeah. What about you?"

He shrugged, "Tutoring. I'm waiting for my tutor to show up but I think she bailed on me."

His phone buzzed and as if one cue it was a text form his tutor.

_Sorry I wont be able to make it today! We can totally study tomorrow if you can make it. -MThayer_

"Apparently she did bail on me," he scoffed, "Great."

"Who's your tutor?"

"Some girl named Meadow? You know her? Blonde hair, tanned skin, ring a bail?"

She placed a finger on her chin, "Hmm, sounds like one of Angela's little friends but I wouldn't know. If you haven't noticed I don't really have a bunch of people to hang out with."

"Really? I thought you were mega popular."

She playfully rolled her eyes, "Shut the fuck up."

"Ouch! That hurt," he joked as he placed a hand on his heart. He took a seat next to Lilith and she turned to face him, "So you're waiting for Angela?"

"Yup. Her and her stupid cheer friends need to practice like so hard today!" she faked a valley girl accent as she flipped her hair, forcing Dustin to laugh.

There was a brief silence before she started talking again, "How's she anyway?"

She gave him a look and he threw his hands up in defense, "What! Just checking on her. She's still my friend."

"Then why don't you go talk to her?"

"I don't know...I don't want to be in a relationship right now and considering my past history with her, it seems like that would be hard to do."

She smacked him on the arm, "Oh just get back together with her. The worst thing you have to hide is that you're in the criminal career and she can handle that. I mean sure she's a judging bitch but when it comes to you she's a sweetheart. The point is, it won't change the way she feels about you."

He sighed, "Well being in the criminal career is like being apart of a gang. There's only a few people you can trust and if you tell the wrong person about your love life, they'll try to force you to force them to join. I don't want her to be apart of that."

"Then keep your mouth shut."

He shrugged, "I always do...I just don't see why she still likes me. She can have anyone she wants."

Lilith rolled her eyes, "She likes you because you're you."

He raised an eyebrow, "Because I'm...me?"

She smacked him playfully, "You know what I mean! You're funny, supportive, nice and you try your best to be a good person. You're real and I guess some people would say you're cute." She tried her best to hide her blush but Dustin still saw it.

He gave her an amused look.

"Wipe that smirk off your face Broke. I was only saying what my sister thinks of you. Twin telepathy you know," she covered.

"Right," he smirked, "Well thanks Lilith. You're a good friend."

"I know," she smirked.

Dustin grabbed his bags as he started to leave.

"So I'll see your tomorrow then?"

He nodded, "Yeah, only so I can hear that song of yours."

He walked off and Lilith couldn't wipe the smile off her face.


	16. Episode 11

**Disclaimer: **

**I DO NOT own You Don't Know Me by Elizabeth Gilles.**

**I DO NOT own Single Ladies by Beyonce.**

**Cassandra hangs out with an old friend. Nina contemplates moving out of Pleasantview. Lilith and Angela compete against each other during the talent show. Alexander gets into a fight at school.**

**I Think You Know Me: Episode 11 PT1**

With nothing to do but wait for the court appearance, Cassandra decided to call up an old friend. She picked up the telephone in her room and waited patiently as it rang over and over again.

"Cassandra?"

"Darren! Hey!"

"Hey I haven't heard from you in a while. How have you been? I saw the Goth Court Case on the news and I thought maybe you needed your space," he told her.

She smiled, "You haven't changed a bit. I've been holding up as well as I can."

"Yeah."

"So I was wondering if you wanted to hang out at the park or something?"

Silence.

"Um, I don't know. I might have somewhere to be."

She raised an eyebrow though he couldn't see it, "Oh...well do you have to sell some special paintings or something?"

"No it's not like that it's just...look I'll call you back later if I can make it," he replied.

She sighed, "Alright. It's just that I thought I might be able to spend some time with you after everything that's been going on. I just really need my best friend right now."

More silence.

Darren caved in, "Alright I'll meet you at the park in ten."

She smiled, "Great! Thanks Darren!"

* * *

Mortimer dropped Alexander off at school and he was silent for the entire car ride. So many things were going on in his head. _Why would anyone want to kill my mom? How could my sister almost marry someone who helped kill my mom? Why do I hardly remember anything about her? Am I-_

"Alex! Alex! Are you ok?"

Interrupting his never ending thoughts about his mother, he looked up to see his friend and secret crush Marsha Brueing. Marsha was a cute townie with dark skin like his sister Cassandra, and long brown hair. Any other day he would ecstatic that she was talking to him, since she had plenty of friends that she could talk to, but right now he just wanted to be left alone.

He didn't say anything and she gave him a sad smile and pulled him into a hug, "I'm sorry Alex...I don't really get what was happening but my mommy told me that it was something really bad."

"It's ok it's not your fault," he said, and before they could continue their conversation a group of mean sims came up to him.

They were 8th graders, Alexander already knew. They ruled the private school and they were often called the Rebels because they never did their homework and one of them was even repeating the 8th grade!

"Saw the court case," a boy snickered, "Someones got mommy issues doesn't he?"

"Go take a hike!" Marsha shouted.

The boy rolled his eyes, "Wow Alex-loser! You're going to let some girl pick your battles for you?"

Anger boiled inside him. He couldn't deal with this right now. He was already going through a lot of stuff, and the last thing he needed was some stupid 8th graders getting in his face, "Just back off!"

"Wow, guess someones balls finally dropped," the kid laughed, and Alexander glared. He turned to Marsha, "I'll talk to you later at the playground."

"Alex you're not really going to-"

"Just go."

She looked from him to the boys and made a run for it. He drew in a deep breath. Mortimer always taught his son to pick his battles wisely, but this was one that Alexander was choosing. He was tired of being pushed around and he was going to deal with it.

Without a word Alexander and the 8th grader went at it. Alexander pushed the kid and he punched him in the stomach. Alex crouched over in pain, his stomach throbbing. He fell to the floor and the blonde haired kid ran towards him. He grabbed the kids leg and bit it and the boy screamed, "OUCH! You can't bite me!"

"Oh what there's rules now!"

He pushed the 8th grader to the ground and he fell in a puddle of mud. The crowd laughed at him, and his face turned bright red. He got out of the mud and tackled Alexander to the ground, punching him in the face numerous times. He tried to push him off but to no avail. From the corner of his eye he saw someone running towards them.

"Stop this right now!"

It was his English teacher. She was a kind sim with dark skin and black hair that was pulled into a bun. She looked at both of the students and glared, "What has gotten into you two?" She was especially shocked to see her star pupil in a fight.

"He started it!"

She rolled her eyes and grabbed both of them by their wrist, "You guys can explain who started it in the principals office."

* * *

"Nina you don't have to do this," she looked over at her best friend. They were sitting in Nina's empty condo.

"I do. There's no way that Don and Dina aren't going to jail. I need to do this for my baby."

"No, you need to stay here for your baby Nina. You don't have enough money for the city life. The houses out there are expensive. You could get a job but I know from experience that it's hard to get a job when you're pregnant," she explained as she rocked Ty gently. He cooed and grabbed her fingers, and she smiled as she looked at him.

Nina truly admired her friend. She just hoped that she would be a good mother like Brandi, "I want my baby to have the best chance in life and I don't think my baby will have that in Pleasantview. Even if Don and Dina do survive jail, Dina will continue to be how she is and Don isn't capable of taking care of a child! He doesn't know the last thing about being a father."

"But eventually your child will want to see it's father. It will do anything to see him, even leave the city in search of him. It will have to find out any way. And don't you love him Nina? Don't you want to try and make it work?"

She sighed, "Of course I love him but I just...I know he's going to jail. There's no way that with all of that proof he can get out of it. I just can't handle this, not here. Even if he goes to jail for the minimum time my baby will at least be older than a year."

"Nina what's leaving Pleasantview really going to do for you? Your baby will still be fatherless, your sister will still be in jail, and you'll still have to raise this baby on your own. Going downtown isn't going to do anything expect pressure you into drinking, and partying, which is not good for your baby. You owe it to your child to stay here, you can't just run away from your problems."

Nina smirked, and Brandi raised an eyebrow, "What?"

"I wish you would take your own advice."

She groaned, "Please tell me this isn't about Darren."

"I'd be lying if I said it wasn't, look I think you're crazy. Darren obviously loves you and wants to be with you. He's willing to be a father to your baby, to help you in any way possible. His face was the first thing little Ty even saw. But yet you don't want to open up, you'd rather run away from your problems."

"Nina-"

"Look I'm just saying you should talk to him before he moves on."

"Who would he move on to?"

Nina looked at her as if it were obviously, "Think about it Brandi. Cassandra and Don have already filed for their divorce, and she's probably itching to get married. I don't know Cassandra personally, but I do know that those two are close friends and everyone knows that he was in love with her. She probably even knew. She could just try to be with him because her and Don didn't workout. Do you really want her to take that away from you?"

* * *

After school, Lilith stayed behind. She was pacing back and fourth as she rehearsed her lines over and over again in her head for the talents how. From the corner of her eye she saw a couple of geeks working on some stand up comedy. She saw a girl with brown hair tuning her guitar, and then Angela and her friends who were taking turns doing their hair and laughing. She started to feel a little lonely, but she didn't need moral support. She needed to sing this song perfectly. Besides, she was the one who told Dustin not to come back stage.

Angela approached Lilith as she paced back and forth. She faked a smile, "So you're doing the talent show."

"Yeah Angela, I guess you're not the only one who can get the spotlight," she glared.

She crossed her arms over her chest, "Look Lil, I think you're a great little singer but it really doesn't matter."

She raised an eyebrow, "What do you mean?"

"I mean everyone knows this is a popularity test, and you well...you're not popular Lilith. You never will be. I don't want to hurt your feelings but I think you should drop out," she said.

"You know what Angela shut the fuck up! I'm going up there and I'm going to sing my heart out. I'm not backing out, so you can just go."

Angela huffed as she stormed off to her friends.

"Let's give a a round of applause for Alvin Futa and his talent of burping the ABC's," the teacher said, clearly disturbed, "W-Wonderful performance."

She shook her head and the audience laughed as he took off. She called up the next person. Sophia Miguel. She did a classical piece that was beautiful, but put most of the audience to sleep. Only Dirk and a few of her other friends clapped for her.

"Solid performance Miss Miguel," the teacher clapped.

She grabbed the next card, "Please give it up for the Single Sims! Consisting of Angela Pleasant, Meadow Thayer, and Tosha Go!"

The crowd seemed to scream for them. It was mostly the cheerleaders and football players. Being able to put aside what had happened earlier, Mary and Daniel took a seat in the front as they watched their daughter walk out on the stage. She was wearing a new dress that Daniel thought was way too short fo her, and her hair was curled. She had some lipstick and the rest of the girls stood behind her, smiling for the audience.

The football players seemed to undress the girls with their eyes and Dustin watched Angela, clearly amused. He had to admit she looked cute. The music started and the girls weren't afraid to work the stage. It was all about stage performance after all.

"All the single sims! All the single sims! All the single sims! Just put your hands up!"

"Up in the club, we just broke up, I'm doing my own little thing," Angela sang.

"Decided to dip and now you wanna trip' cause another brother noticed me," Meadow finished.

"I'm up on him, he up on me. Don't pay him any attention," Tosha sang.

"Just cried my tears, for three good years, Ya can't be mad at me!" Angela finished.

"All the single sims! All the single sims! All the single sims! Just put your hands up!"

They finished the song without missing a beat. The crows cheered for them and Lilith could hear the wild crowd from behind the curtains. It only made her more nervous. She drew in a deep breath as she pushed the thought of her annoying sister from her head. _I'm doing this for me. I'm doing this so that I can finally get my chance to shine._

"Thank you Single Sims! Amazing job!" the teacher clapped. When they finished cheering, the girls exited the stage and the teacher pulled out the next card, "Next we have Lilith Pleasant?" she was shocked but she quickly recovered, "Yes Lilith Pleasant will be singing You Don't Know Me! Please welcome her to the stage!"

She made her way to the stage and she could have sworn she heard Dustin clapping and she forced herself not to laugh. She stared at the audience as she grabbed her mike. She was so nervous that she could feel her hands shaking but the sound of the music helped her relax.

"You think you know me, but you don't know me...You think you own me but you can't, control me. You look at me and there's just one thing that you see, so listen to me...LISTEN TO ME!"

"You push me back, I push you back, harder, harder! You scream at me me, I scream at you. Louder, L-L-L-LOUDER! I'm dangerous...so I'm warning you. But you're not afraid of me, and I can't convince you, that you don't know me."

"And the longer that you stay the ice is melting! And the pain it feels okay, it feels okaaaay. Heyy."

As she sang, Dirk watched her the entire time, completely memorized. He moved closer to the stage and smiled at her, and she saw it.

"You push me back, I push you back...You scream at me, I scream at you. Louder, Louder, louder, louder, louder!"

"You push me back, I push you back. Harder, harder. You scream at me, I scream at you. Louder, L-L-L-Louder! I'm dangerous...so I'm warning you, but you're not afraid of me, and I can't convince you, and I don't have to. I think you know me," she looked at Dirk and smiled, and suddenly he missed her like crazy.

Silence.

The crows was so shocked. Dirk was the first one to clap, and slowly everyone else started clapping. She couldn't hide the smile on her face when she saw her parents get up and clap for her. She was the last performance of the day and the teacher was happy to say that she went out with a bang, "Thank you Lilith Pleasant! Let's give her another round of applause!"

They clapped some more as she exited the stage. Now all she had to do was wait for the end results. Angela walked over to her and gave her a sad smile, "Lilith I'm sorry for what I said. I'm competitive and I was just trying to psych you out."

Lilith shrugged her shoulders, "It's cool."

Her parents came up to both Lilith and Angela and said that they were both amazing. For once she felt like her family was proud. As she waited for them to tally up the points, she felt someone tap her shoulder. She turned around and felt her stomach do flips when she saw that it was Dirk.

"I've missed you," he told her.

She smirked, "Yeah? And what are you going to do about it?"

They didn't say anything more as Dirk grabbed her by the waist and pulled her in for a romantic kiss. She wrapped her arms around his neck. It felt right to be with him again. She smiled into the kiss until she heard someone clear their throat excessively.

Dustin felt his cheeks redden as he looked at Lilith and Dirk, "My bad you guys, but they're calling up the awards right now."

She smiled, "It's cool. Thanks Dustin."

"In fourth place we have Alvin Futa with his burping alphabets," the teacher said, disgusted that they had even picked him for anything. He ran up to the stage and smiled, "YEAH! I WON SOMETHING!"

She waved his statement off, "In third place we have Sophia Miguel with her classical piece on the violin!"

She smiled gracefully as she accepted her award.

"And in second place we have...the Single Sims!" she smiled, and they walked up to the stage, clearly shocked.

She grabbed the next card, "Lastly in first place. We have Lilith Pleasant who performed You Don't Know Me!"

She couldn't believe it. She tried to hold her squeal as she looked over at Dustin. Angela eyed the two as Lilith practically leaped into his arms, as did Dirk. She let go of him and ran to the stage, so excited about winning that she just wanted to dance.

"Thank you for everyone who participated and this years talent show! Great job!"


	17. Episode 12

[Thanks for all of the support. Hope you guys enjoy the show.]

**The End: Episode 12**

**Alex gets in trouble at school. The judge makes their final decision on the case and Jennifer runs into a man who promises to make her novels a little more interesting.**

_Tuesday _

Alexander waited anxiously for his father to pick him up. He wanted to be anywhere but school at the moment, and that was something different for him. His mind flashed back to the fight that took place in the morning, all the way towards his talk with the principal. It was decided that both students would receive a one week detention during lunch for the fight that took place. They would be forced to pick up all the trash in the cafeteria and the quad area. Alexander knew it was wrong to fight, but he couldn't help but feel a little bit better. Ever since the case, a tremendous amount of stress had been put on him. Suddenly people were coming up to him and asking him about his mother. And what was he supposed to say? Sure he loved his mom, but he really didn't remember much of her. He didn't even know the full story of her absence. His father only told him that she was gone, and he didn't know if she would ever come back. Knowing she was dead saddened him, but since he never saw much of her anyway, he didn't know how he should feel.

He messed with the string on his backpack as he felt the wind suddenly pick up. He shivered, noticing that he only had a thin jacket on to go with his uniform. As he waited he saw Marsha walk past him, and they stared into each others eyes for a while before she sighed and walked off. He knew she was disappointed in him for some reason. He knew she hadn't expected him to fight, but there was only so much a sixth grader could take, right?

HONK!

The sudden beep of his fathers car pulled him out of his thoughts as he ran inside the car. He took a seat and threw his heavy back pack off his shoulders as he he put on his seat belt. Mortimer received a call from the school telling him that his son had been involved in some fight.

"What's your punishment?"

"One week of detention, trash pick up," he answered as he looked anywhere but into his fathers eyes.

"I know there's been a lot of stress put on you but you can't go around fighting people."

"He started it!"

"And you could have resolved the situation much better than that."

"I'm sorry..."

"It's ok. I understand but I really hope you learned your lesson."

Silence.

"Are you ready for this?"

He shrugged his shoulders and muttered, "It's not like I have much of a choice."

* * *

Brandi arrived at her a house a little while ago. She let out a sigh as she took a seat on one of the kitchen chairs. _What if Darren really did move on? What if I lost my only chance to be happy again? I guess it would only be my fault right? I wasn't ready to let him in or tell him that I love him. I just...I just pushed him away! But do I really love him? Could I spend my entire life with him._

She hesitantly picked up her phone, ready to call but then she sighed and put it back down. She decided to go for a walk in the park instead. Dustin would be home soon enough to take care of Beau and she could easily take Ty with her. She grabbed the sleeping baby and put him in a broken down stroller as she made her way to the park.

As she walked there she received a call from her doctor. He randomly checked up on her to see how things were going and Brandi didn't leave a detail out. The pills were working fine, and so far there hadn't been any slip ups. After about fifteen minutes of walking, she finally arrived at the park. _That was a great exercise _ She strolled around with her baby but suddenly stopped dead in her tracks when she saw something that she wished she hadn't.

...Darren and Cassandra,** kissing**?

She rubbed her eyes. _No..it just can't be true. If he liked Cassandra again he would have just told me. Or is he that upset with me?_ She felt her eyes began to burn as she blinked back tears. Her throat started to swell up as she tried to swallow the aching sob that wanted to rip through her mouth. She saw him look her way and she started to walk again, this time heading home.

* * *

Cassandra and Darren were at the park as she told him about everything that was going on. Darren tried his best to listen to her, and offer her good advise but his mind kept drifting back to Brandi. He wondered what she was doing right now, if she would ever open up. Or if maybe he hated her.

"...I just can't believe he did this to me. I thought that...maybe I could change him. When he opened up to me I thought he was being honest but he's just a liar. A cheat and a liar! He probably never even loved me," she sighed, "To think my mom could have been here with me right now and all he has to say is that he's sorry. And then he just lies in the courthouse!"

Tears started to fall down her eyes, snapping Darren back into reality. Darren looked at the teary eyed girl. He felt sorry for her. They were best friends and at one time he would do anything he could to protect her. She didn't deserve to suffer. She just wanted somebody to love and even though it wasn't him, he would always be there for her.

"I'm sorry Cassandra...I'm sorry you've been going through hell lately but you'll get through this. You can do anything."

"Thank you Darren...gosh I'm so lucky to have you," she smiled and he felt something in his stomach tingle.

Cassandra stared at him for a little while and without thinking she grabbed his chin and kissed him. Darren hadn't realized what was happening until her lips were planted on his. He wasn't going to lie and deny the fact that she was a good kisser, or that he had been waiting for this moment for a while. But, it felt so wrong now that he was in love with Brandi. The kiss only lasted two seconds until he realized what was happening and gently shoved her away. She looked down, embarrassed with her actions, "I-I'm sorry...I'm just all messed up today."

He let out a nervous laugh but inside he was screaming. Darren was about to tell her the truth when her phone rang. She picked it up and Darren turned his head just in time to see someone that made his heart beat increase. He squinted his eyes to get a better look at the girl but she had already started walking away.

"...Yeah alright. I'm at the park can you come pick me up from here? Thanks," she said. When she hung up she looked back at Darren but all he could think about was Brandi so he was relived when Cassandra said that she had to get going. He gave her a hug and wished her good luck with the case.

* * *

"This is it...Marylena said that she should have the papers as early as next week," Mary said as she stared into Daniels eyes. There was this new feeling that built up inside of her. She was sad...yet proud of herself for finally deciding that she deserved more than a cheater.

"Great," he sighed, "I guess this is for the best right?"

Mary just nodded. The door opened and in came Angela and Lilith. They had just spent some time at the school talking with their former boyfriends. Or was Lilith with Dirk now? She couldn't remember.

She grabbed the papers quickly and made her way to her room. Lilith and Angela shot them a confused look but neither of them said a word.

"What were those papers?"

"Uh, nothing."

Lilith gave Daniel a look.

"I'll explain later. Right now I want to say congrats to the silver and gold medalist," He smiled as his daughters and gave them a hug.

They sat at the table while Mary ate dinner on the couch. She turned on the TV and Angela was shocked. This was the first time she had broken the golden rule and sat on the couch with her phone, let alone watch TV while doing so. She noticed her dad was silent and she was dying to know why.

"Hey mom what gives?"

"Sorry honey. I just really need to watch the Goth Court Case today to see how Cassandra's holding up. I thought maybe I'd text her after and bring her something to make her feel better.

* * *

Silence filled the courtroom as everyone found their seats. Everyone was anxious to see what would happen.

"Meeting called to order by me, Chantel Leer at 3:30," the judge said, getting everyone attention.

The audience stared at the judge who drew in a deep breath.

"After seeing plain evidence from the recorded tape the jury has made their final decision. Since Don and Dina were not completely responsible for the death of Bella Goth and, did not know that Mr. Beaker was going to kill Bella, only experiment on her they will be charged for a class 2 felony. There were no use of weapons from what we gathered in the video. Don and Dina will be sentenced to three years, and when they get out they will be on probation. If they break their probation and leave Pleasantview, they will be sentenced for another year."

All of the sims started to whisper about the case. Some people agreed with it, others disagreed. The judge looked at all of the noisy sims and called for their attention again, "We are truly sorry for the loss of Bella Goth and have decided that the Goth family will received 500,000 simelions for their loss," the judge said.

Don and Dina's attorney was outraged, "What exactly did this video show!"

"YEAH LET'S SEE THE VIDEO!"

The judge sighed, "SILENCE! I will have order in my courtroom. And this video contained all of the evidence we needed."

She took out the video and played it and everyone watched intently. When the video was over people were more than upset with what Don and Dina had done. They started to throw things at them, while others still thought that they weren't exactly responsible for killing Bella and they shouldn't be sentenced at all. The camera showed the sims throwing things and Don and Dina who ducked and covered as best as they could and shouted back angry words at them. The color seemed to be drained out of Don. He couldn't believe he was going to jail and he started to think of his baby.

"Mr. Lothario, do you feel that what the judge has sentenced you to is fair?"

Don sighed, "It's only right that I get thrown into jail for what I did in the past, but I just want to say Nina if you're watching this I love you and that baby."

The reporter was shocked, "So you'll be a father soon but you'll be in jail?"

He nodded sadly, "I'm sorry Nina...I'm sorry."

He pushed the camera gently out of the way as the police handcuffed him and escorted him out of the courtroom.

The reporters ran over to Dina who was crying uncontrollably.

"How does it feel to know that you'll be in jail? Do you think it was fair?"

"GET OUT OF MY FACE!" she screamed.

Some reporters made their way to the Goth family.

"Mr. Goth how do you feel about what the judge has decided?"

"I'm feeling much better knowing that they're going to jail for what they did. And I'm glad that Phoebe and I found this out before Cassandra married him. Now they need to focus on finding Mr. Beaker."

"What do you have to say about that Phoebe?"

"I'm happy that I got to help someone out. Mortimer is a great sim, and he really loved his wife. It's sad what's happened, but all we can do now is move forward."

"And will you two move forward together?"

Phoebe and Mortimer looked at each other then back at the reporters, "What?"

"Will you guys go out?"

Phoebe chuckled along with Mortimer, but they didn't answer.

"Cassandra what will you do now? Will you try to get married again?"

"Now that that scum is in jail I'm going to go on with my life. I'm sure I'll find someone to settle down with."

"And there you have it. The Goth Court Case is a success for the Goth family. Back to you Benjamin."

* * *

_8:00_

The Burb family had just eaten dinner and was finishing up their movie night, when Lucy was getting sleepy. Jennifer and John smiled as they led Lucy to her bed, and kissed her goodnight. When Jennifer closed the door John pulled her into a romantic kiss. His arms gripped her waist and traveled down to a lower area of her body and she gasped, then giggled, "What was that about?"

He smiled, "I can't kiss my beautiful wife?"

She rolled her eyes but smiled, "So how is Ms. Broke?"

She made her way into her bedroom and grabbed her coat.

"I can't discuss my patients with you...Where are you going?"

"Oh just out to the cafe for a bit. I'm going to print out a story of mine and then maybe jot down some stuff and send a news article to some of my friends."

"You're really interested in your job."

She shrugged, "Just like you're interested in yours I guess."

She grabbed her purse when he followed behind her, "Wait!"

"What's up?"

"Did you ever think about us...maybe having another kid?"

Her face turned red, "John I could barely deal with the pain of having the first one."

"I know but wouldn't it be nice for Lucy to have another brother or sister?"

"I suppose but then again it would be nice to adopt too, so that another sim could have a home. But right now I can't think about that, I need to head out."

He sighed and went to bed.

* * *

At about eight-thirty, Jennifer was at the cafe. There were some amazing karaoke artist out today, and she smiled as she jotted down a few things, scribbling out some insane titles that she had thought of in the process. Her story was all printed out, and she nibbled on a blueberry muffin as she took more and more notes.

Someone tapped her on the shoulder, and she turned around as she stared at the man. She gave him a confused face, but she shook his hand anyway, "Hi I'm Jennifer, and you are?"

"My name is Grand Vampire, and you are Jennifer Burb, the novelist am I correct?" he asked as he planted a kiss on her hand.

She gave him a weak smile but slowly pulled away, "That's correct. You've heard of me?"

"Of course, everyone downtown has heard of you. You should be having your picture taken right now," he told her and she laughed, clearly flattered.

"There's just one thing that I think is missing in all of your novels."

"Really?" she said, "What is it?"

"Will you come take a walk with me?" he pushed, and she hesitated for a moment before grabbing her purse and deciding to go. He promised her the walk wouldn't be far. It was only a few blocks away from her car.

"So what does my writing need?"

"It needs, vampires of course!" he told her, and she took a step back.

"Vampires? Well I suppose I could interview a few like yourself and-"

"No, no, that won't do. You'd need a firsthand experience my lady," he smirked, and before she could even think he grabbed her shoulders and bit into it, a loud shriek came from her red lips, as the vampire sunk his teeth into her skin.

"Yum, that's the best blood I've tasted in a while," he said, and with that he flew away, leaving Jennifer to stand there, completely shocked. The pain had gone away incredibly fast, and when she looked at her skin, it was a strange pale color. She pulled out a small mirror, but she couldn't see her reflection! Making her scream even more.

At that very moment she knew she was a vampire.

_Stay tuned for more episodes. _


	18. Episode 13

**Is Only The Beginning PT1: Episode 13**

**Now that the court case has settled down, new problems start to arise. **

_A Week Later: Monday Morning_

The Pleasant household sat together during a seemingly perfect morning. It was 10:00, the sky was clear. The birds were singing, the sun was shining, and Sim High had Monday off due to a teachers meeting. Angela would usually be excited about something like this. She'd hang out with her friends, flirt with cute sims, or buy clothes. But today she was sitting next to her sister as her parents and Marylena went over the divorce. She couldn't believe it. They fought all the time but she never thought it would come down to this. When she found out about the divorce she could hardly eat because she felt so sick. Lilith sat next to her, staring down at the carpet. She wasn't shocked because she knew that there was something going on, she just never had any evidence. Inside she felt angry. Angry with all of them. She was angry with Kaylnn for ruining her family, angry with Daniel for cheating, and with her mom for working so much being the ultimate cause of their divorce. She kept it all to herself though.

"So is there any questions you guys would like to ask?" Marylena questioned as she eyed the two teens.

Silence.

"As far as living arrangements, we'll need you guys to decide that on your own," she added.

Mary cleared her throat, "Yeah. Daniel is planning to move to Tikki Island with...Kaylnn. And he's letting me keep the house."

Even though Mary-Sue knew it was for the best, she still couldn't help but hate Kaylnn. Daniel suddenly felt nervous and sorry as he looked at his daughters, "If you live with me then you'll come and visit your mother once a month until you go to college and vise versa. If one of you guys chooses to live with me then the other one can stay behind and come visit. It's your guys' choice."

They didn't say anything.

"You guys don't have to make a decision right this minute, just think about it," Mary said in a soft tone, "This is what's best for our family-"

"SHUT UP!" Angela shouted and Lilith cringed, never knowing her sister had it in her, "Just shut the hell up already! This is NOT what's best for our family! You're splitting us all up! What happened to being together until death huh?"

Lilith rolled her eyes, "Wow if I would have told you guys to shut the hell up you would have grounded me."

"This is a special case Lilith. Angela's just upset and we understand, it's going to take time."

Lilith stood up, obviously annoyed, "Special case my ass! It's more like an Angela case! You think she's the only one who's torn up about all of this? No, but some people would rather keep it to themselves."

She turned to her sister, "Stuff happens Angela. We were never a functional family to begin with. If they don't get a divorce our family is just going to get worse."

Tears started falling from Angela's eyes as she crossed her arms over her chest, "We could have tried Lilith because that's what family does...we can still try."

"Angela it's over ok! There's no turning back they made their decision!"

"Girls, please take a seat," Mary said in a weak tone.

They didn't listen.

"This is a very common reaction when parents get a divorce. It will take them some time to get used to-"

Angela groaned, "This isn't like moving to a new house. I'm never going to get used to this!"

"That's just how it feels now but-"

"Whatever screw it. I need to get out of here," Angela said as she grabbed her purse.

"Where the hell are you going!" Lilith shouted, truly concerned about her sister.

"I just...I need to get out. Please, don't wait up," Angela said as she looked at her sister with a sad smile. She couldn't handle it like Lilith, she just couldn't.

Lilith was about to chase after her when a firm hand fell on her shoulder. She turned to see it was her dad and she pushed his hand off of her. He gave her a look saying, 'Just let her go'.

* * *

"Nina you can't do this. Just think rationally," Brandi pleaded with her best friend.

"Brandi...I have to do this. I'm going to move downtown. It will be good for my daughter. She'll have a good life out there," she said a soft tone.

"The Tricou family didn't have a good life."

Nina sighed, "I'll miss you Brandi. But this is my decision, and it's a damn good one. I'm not just doing this for me, but for my baby."

"Who are you staying with?"

She paused.

"Nina!"

"I'm staying with Samuel...you remember him right?"

Brandi made a disgusted face, "That townie that tried to wo-hoo with you a few years ago? Give me a freaking break Nina! I thought you loved Don."

"You know I do."

"Mhmm."

"Look Samuel is just helping me until I get a job of my own. He has money and I don't."

"It's true! Look I have to go," she said as she hung up the phone. Brandi sighed and put the phone away. At least she could say she tried. The doorbell rang and Ty started to stir from his sleep. Dustin woke up as well and made his way into the kitchen, "Aye mom I'm going out today for tutoring."

Brandi's eyes practically jumped out of her sockets as she made her way to the door, "There's no school today. Where are you guys meeting up?"

He shrugged, "Coffee shop a few blocks from here."

Brandi smiled at his son, "I'm so proud of you."

He grabbed some food and made his way out. When he opened the door he smirked, "Mom I think someones here for you!"

She gave him a confused look but he didn't answer, he just kept walking away. She walked over to the door and saw Darren standing there.

"Hey can we talk?"

She didn't say anything but let him in, "What is it?"

Before he could open his mouth she rolled her eyes, "Oh I know! How about you're sorry that you kissed Cassandra!"

He rolled his eyes and walked a little closer towards her, "I knew you were at the park. Why didn't you say anything?"

"I didn't want to interrupt you two."

"Brandi-"

"Why didn't you just say you wanted to break up with me?"

"Brandi-"

"Because stringing someone along really isn't cool and-"

"BRANDI!"

She stopped talking but shushed him a little, "Ty and Beau are asleep."

"I didn't kiss her...she kissed me," he said but then decided to tell her the entire story, knowing she wouldn't be convinced.

"Oh."

"Yeah..."

"I'm...I'm sorry Darren."

He shrugged, "It's fine. But look Brandi we need to build some type of trust. I love you but if you can't trust me then I can't be with you."

That was enough to shut her up. She really needed to think.

"Darren I-"

"MOM! MOM!"

She turned around to see Beau staring at her, "What is it honey?"

"I'm heading out to the park with some friends today. Oh and there was roach under the bed so I put it in a container. Don't kill it I'm gonna use it for my next prank!"

Brandi made a disgusted face, "Ew! Beau just...just get it out of here."

He nodded as he grabbed the container and left the house. Brandi sighed, "Kids."

She looked back up at Darren, "Darren...I do love you and I want to be with you I just...I don't see how this is going to work."

"Just trust me," he smirked as he grabbed her waist and kissed her. She giggled as she wrapped her arms around him and he picked her up and led her to her bed. He laid on top of her and the two of them were in a heated make-out session when the baby started crying again. The two got up, both panting and went to check on Ty. She cuddled the baby as he looked at her with adoration, "Brandi let's move in together."

She looked at him like he was crazy, "Move in together?"

He nodded.

"You're crazy Darren! There's not enough space for all of us. I have Dustin, Ty, and Beau and you have Dirk."

"Well is there really any space here?"

She didn't say anything.

"Dirk's leaving at the end of the year. I'm sure he won't mind sleeping on the couch for a few more months. I have a futon he can sleep downstairs and Dustin can have a room of his own. Beau and Ty can definitely share and then we'll have our privacy," he smirked at her and she blushed.

She exhaled, "Alright then...let's do it!"

She laughed as she cuddled Ty. She couldn't believe that her and Darren were actually moving in together. He kissed her on the cheek and she smiled.

* * *

"Ok...last question what is a denotation?" Meadow asked as she looked at Dustin.

He scratched his head, "Oh wait I got it! It's the literal meaning or dictionary definition."

She chuckled as she moved some hair from her face and smiled, "You got it! You're going to ace that test tomorrow. Should we start on science?"

She went to pull the book out of her bag but he grabbed her hand gently, "I don't have a science test coming up."

She put her hand back on the table, "Oh...then what do you want to do? We still have a little bit of time to kill."

He smirked, "Is it ok for tutors to hang out with their students?"

She laughed, "I think...what did you have in mind?"

"Arcade!"

She frowned, "I hate video games. They kill your brain cells you know."

He rolled his eyes, "What doesn't kill your brain cells these days?"

She laughed, "True."

"What about the community pool?"

Her face lit up, "Great! It's like the perfect day to go for a swim. Come on!"

* * *

"Are you crazy!" John argued as he closed all the curtains, noticing that his wife was becoming faint from the sunlight.

Before she could answer Lucy ran in there, "What's going on? Why is mommy so pale?"

He ran a finger through his hair, not in the mood to explain all of this to his daughter, "Lucy honey. Mommy is sick but don't worry, she's going to get better." He gave his wife a kiss on the cheek.

"She looks like those vampires on SimSaga. Cool!"

John rolled his eyes, "I'm going to call the Pleasant's to pick you up for today. You can spend the night at their house how does that sound?"

"What about mommy?"

"Mommy will be fine. I'll watch her don't worry."

Lucy smiled, "Alright!"

John called them up and they said it was no problem. Lucy seemed to love hanging out with her cousins and she wanted to be just like Lilith in particular, but John warned against it. Because of her strange desire to be like her gothic twin cousin, she picked up some bad words and a strange addiction to black lipstick. It also had come to his attention that she had been pranking other students with some kid named Beau but he often let her get away with it, unknowingly spoiling her in the process.

When Mary picked her up John thanked her and closed the door. He turned to his wife, "I'm getting someone on the phone to get you a potion right now. You can't stay a vampire your whole life."

She shrugged, "Why not? Look I'm not happy I was bitten but it makes for one heck of a novel. I'm not turning back into a human until my next novel on being a vampire is done. Now do you have any plasma juice? I'm thirsty."

_Stay tuned for more episodes. And don't go anywhere just yet! Because a preview of the next episode is coming up soon!_

* * *

**Is Only the Beginning PT 2:**

Meadow is running away with Dustin! Angela's weighing herself on the scale. Nina's crying? And Cassandra is talking to the Grim Reaper?

* * *

What's going on? Leave a review and you predict what's going to happen. I hope you guys enjoyed the episode for today. I'm kind of using the Burb family as a comic relief since there's so much stuff going on with all the other characters.


	19. Episode 13PT2

[I'm thinking of having this show go up to about 20 episodes, so it should be almost done with. Anyway, I hope you guys enjoy this new installment, let me know what you think. This chapter is up to roughly 3,000 words, just so you know.]

**Is Only the Beginning PT2: Episode 13**

**Now that the court case has settled down, new problems start to arise.**

Cassandra lay on her bed, a complete wreck. She kept telling herself over and over again that the court case was over with; her father was as pleased as he could be, Don and Dina were in jail, and they were out looking for the man that killed her mom. But even as she said these words, she didn't feel any happier. She tried to get her mind off of it by thinking about Darren, her best friend. She thought maybe she should call him up, and go on a date, but she shook that thought out of her head. Lately he hadn't been returning her phone calls anyway, and it always seemed like he had somewhere to be. Cassandra thought long and hard about it, but her mind gave up on her and she let it go.

It was close to 11 now, and she was already trying to go to sleep. She tossed and turned in her bed but even the littlest noises like Mortimer and Alexander, playing the piano downstairs, woke her up. She groaned as she sat up in her bed and rubbed her temples, she felt a headache coming on and she knew she couldn't stop it. She got up and thought of her mother, she missed her so much, and nothing she did in life would ever replace her. It was almost as if a light bulb sparked in her head, and she was suddenly up rather quickly. She got dressed, throwing on a black dress that she didn't care for. She washed her face, brushed her teeth, and she was out the bedroom door. She made her way downstairs and her father and brother gave her a confused look, but before they could say anything, she was already outside.

()()()

"Angela! It's so good to see you! Come on in!" Tosha said as she pulled her friend into a hug. It was good to have someone at the house. No one really knew how hard it was for a townie. All she had in this world was her best friend Meadow, and to some extent, Angela, although she had a small thing against pre-made Sims.

Angela gave her a sad smile and made her way inside and Tosha sighed in her head. _Oh gosh, she's going to talk about Dustin again._ In her opinion, she really didn't think Angela should be so hung up over a guy. She could go out with tons of the guys at school. Tosha sure had.

"Sorry I'm interrupting you right now, I just really needed to get out of the house." Angela said, trying to contain herself.

Tosha gave her a smile and went to the kitchen, getting out some snacks and soda. She laid it on the table and told her to have a seat on the couch, "It's really no problem at all. What's going on Ang?"

"My parents...th-they're getting a divorce." She wailed, and Tosha patted the girl on the back. She felt sorry for her, but it wasn't the end of the world to her, "What do I do Tosh? Everything is ruined now! How am I supposed to face people when they ask me about the divorce?"

Tosha sighed, "Ang...You can do this alright? If people want to bother you about the divorce just ignore them, and trust me, divorced parents aren't the end of the world. I'm sure you'll still be able to see your mom and your dad right?"

Angela looked at Tosha as if she had just slapped her in the face, "You don't get it Tosh! My family is all I've ever known. I know you haven't really dealt with a lot of hard things in your life but this is bad-"

She cut her off right there. She was tired of people thinking that she had all the things in the world because of the way she acted, and the clothes she wore. She worked damn hard to get the stuff she has now, "Angela...I know exactly what you're going through. You feel torn up inside, and you're not sure what's going on. You're hurt, maybe even feeling I don't know like, betrayed. But do you even see who you're talking to right now?"

Angela titled her head as if she didn't get it.

"Angela you're talking to Tosha Go, one of the many townies in Plesantview. The girl who was just randomly placed in Pleasantview and had to fend for herself. The girl who doesn't even know her parents! Shit, who knows if they're even alive right now? I still have to pay bills when I'm only in high school, the only one I have to keep me company is Meadow. She's one of the few townies that I've bonded with. Don't get me wrong Angela, if that happened to me I would be broken up to. I know that it's hard for you to understand, but maybe your parents needed this divorce because they were fighting and they didn't want to make you sad. You're going through a lot like, I get it. And I do feel bad for you, but you'll be ok." She told her, and she wished she could have taking a picture of the shocked look on Angela's face.

"I-I...I didn't realize it was so hard for you. Sorry." She said, getting up from the couch. But Angela wasn't truly sorry, she was appalled. She knew that it was hard for Tosha and everything, but it seemed like every-time she tried to express her feelings to someone, they basically told her not to act a certain way.

"It's fine, and I'm sorry if I sound like a bitch. Hey! I know something that would help you get your mind off of things." Toshas' face lit up.

"I'm obviously not in the shopping mood Tosh." Angela snickered.

"No, I was thinking like, dance classes. That would be like, so cool. I do dance and it takes the stress off." She told her.

"Where are these dance classes at?" Angela perked up a little.

"Well there's one at the mall, and they give you money if you compete in competitions...that's how I make most of my money." She told her, and Angela gave the girl a smile, "Alright, dancing, I can do that. Let's go."

()()()

Meadow and Dustin found themselves in a playful fight as they splashed water at each other in the pool. She had to admit, for the first time in a while, she was really enjoying herself. Of course it was fun hanging out with the girls, going to the after parties for cheer, and seeing her best friends Tosha and Angela, but it was nice to just hang out, and to have some fun with someone new. Her mind flashed back for a little while to her boyfriend Randy. He was fun to hang out with, but all they ever did was visit his family, and do homework. He hardly ever touched her, but that's not would he would tell the guys, she bet.

Another splash to the face snapped Meadow back into reality, and she giggled. They started to chase each other until Dustin was out of breath.

"Out of shape much?" She taunted, and he smirked, "Maybe a little."

They relaxed in the pool for a while until Dustin started talking again, "How come you don't act like this at school?"

She raised an eyebrow at him, "What do you mean?"

"Everyone calls you the ditsy cheerleader, but you're not. I mean you have to be smart if you're tutoring me, why don't you let people know?" He questioned, and she let out a sigh, "It's not that simple...being in the in crowd I mean. You could have all the talent, and intelligence in the world, but it doesn't matter if you don't have the look, and you don't act a certain way. You think they let half the cheerleaders on the squad because of talent, nope. They could teach almost anyone, they have to have the look, be the party girl, and sometimes even play the role of being the ditz, that's me."

He took a breath for a minute, then looked at Meadow, holding an intense gaze, "Who gives a fuck about the in crowd though? Why does it matter to be in the in crowd?"

She gave him a small smile, "When I go off to college, I want to be in a sorority. Sure, it's an amazing group and you have to have high academic scores but you also have to live the party life of it and play the role. I'm good at it...so I do it. I guess it sucks that everyone thinks I'm stupid, but hey, it's life."

"I don't think you're stupid Meadow." He inched closer, and she felt her face getting red. She let out a nervous laugh and mumbled thanks. He nodded, and then he crashed his lips onto hers. The feeling was...indescribable. She'd never been kissed this way, not even with Randy. Randy was sweet when he came to his kisses, never wanting to hurt her. This kiss was more aggressive, more passionate, and Meadow had to admit, she liked it.

She wanted to pull away, her brain was screaming for her to stop and think of Randy and how he'd be crushed by this, but she didn't want to. She wrapped her arms around him and he pulled her waist towards her. There were a million reasons why she shouldn't be doing this. The two most important ones were Randy and Angela. _ANGELA! Your best friend who is still in love with this boy. _She hesitantly pulled away, and he smiled at her, and came closer again, apparently he didn't get it.

She pushed him away, and he gave her a confused look.

"What's wrong?" He questioned, and she ran a finger through her hair, "What's wrong is Randy, my boyfriend and Angela, what about Angela Dustin? If she saw this, she'd be crushed. She's still like, in love with you."

"I don't want Angela, I want you." He stated simply, and she felt the urge to smack him but she didn't.

"You put her hopes up for no reason. You told her that you might want to make it work. You can't...we can't." Her words were becoming jumbled. Before he could say anything Meadow heard two faint voices from a distance. Oh shit...

"It's Tosha, I can hear the squeaky voice from anywhere." Meadow told him, and she quickly got out of the water. The steps were coming closer and closer, and she could have sworn she saw a bit of red hair too. What the hell were they doing here? Meadow almost laughed at her question; of course they were here to have fun.

"Come on, we have to go." Meadow insisted, grabbing Dustins' hand and taking off.

()()()

"Nina Catiline." She repeated her name and the lady typed it up quickly, "And you're here to visit?"

She rolled her eyes; she had answered this question three times already. She tapped her fingers on the hem of her black denim skirt, "Dina Catiline and Don Lothario. May I go in now?"

The lady didn't seem to notice Nina's anger rising, or maybe she just didn't care. "You can only visit one person." She said as she continued typing only Will Wright knows what into that ugly computer. Nina's heart dropped, "But I'm leaving tomorrow and it would be really good if I could see the two of them."

"As I stated before Miss Catiline, you can only see one person." She told her, a hint of sass in her tone. Nina was ready to fight this girl.

She took a deep breath. Who should she visit at this point? She desperately needed to see both of them, but she shook the thought out of her head, "Dina Catiline."

"Ok her cell block is 224, we'll have a police officer escort you over there right away." She told her, and she waited five minutes for the police officer. The police officer walked her over the cell, and she could feel the angry stares of the other people behind bars. She knew that they used that to intimidate people, so instead she just looked at the ground.

When she finally saw 224, she leaped for joy and saw that it was Dina. Her hair was messy, her makeup gone now, and she had a bloody lip. She wasn't cut out for this kind of life, and Nina new it. She pressed her face to the bar and Dina started to cry when she saw her sister, "Nina! I don't think I can do this! Not for three years!"

Seeing her sister so emotional, and on top of that the stress of being pregnant made her fall the ground and start crying, "Dina, I promise I will do everything in my power to make sure you get out of here sooner. That's why...I'm moving downtown. I can get some money for you, support the baby, and I'll be living with a friend."

Dina was shocked to say the least, "Nina, please, come back for me. Please! I need you! What I did was wrong but I don't want to stay here...I'm scared."

Nina's tears soaked up her face now, "I promise I'll be back Dina, don't worry ok? She tried to kiss her through the bars but it didn't work. They put their hands together and they kept muttering that they loved each other. She grabbed her purse, "I almost forgot Dina, I brought you something." She took out some Mediterranean bread and Dina smiled, "This is our favorite."

Her laugh was shaky because she was still crying but she smiled and said, "I know!"

"Your time is up!" A gruff voice called, and she reluctantly let go of the bar. As she walked away all she could think of was Don, what he was doing right now. If he was still thinking of being with her and the baby. She decided that she would start writing letters to him, and she hoped that she could get money to bail him out too.

()()()

"It's nice to meet with you. Cassandra Goth am I correct? Daughter to Bella and Mortimer Goth, older sister to Alexander Goth. You're a science teacher now am I correct?" The witch asked. She wasn't the highest witch of them all. She was simply a neutral witch that earned her money by making fortunes and selling strange products.

"Yes...it's nice to meet you uh-"

"Oh just call me Electra." She said, a creepy smile plastered on her lips.

"Ok...Electra. I need some help, do you know anything about reviving uh, dead spirits." She questioned, biting her lip a little. She wondered if Will Wright would think this is right.

The witch let out a sinister smile, "Of course. I have an item in my inventory that can bring any dead spirit back to life. But I assume there's one in particular that you want?"

"Yes...Bella Goth." She stated confidently.

"Very well then, here's the deal. Right here in my inventory I have a Resurrect – O – Nomitron. This little item on its own can bring any dead spirit back to life just by paying it. You're essentially paying the grim reaper. If you don't have enough cash, which I'm sure you do. The sim will come back as a zombie, if you do have enough cash, the sim will come in a cloud and be perfectly normal. The color of the cloud depends on the price. Something can always go wrong with the item. Something can break and your sim could be screwed, or it just might not work at all. It's a very trick item, but it's made absolutely perfect under the spell of any witch." She told her, and it seemed like a perfectly good deal.

"So how much will it be for? 100,000...200,000." Cassandra questioned, she would pay whatever she needed to get her mother back.

"I don't ask for money." The witch told her, "I want you to do some inventory for me."

Cassandra was confused now, "What do you mean?"

"If you can collect dragon scales, mystic dust, and the eye of the newt from the most evil witch in Belladonna Cove, Frances Mallory, then I will give this thing to you for free and make sure that Bella comes back not as a zombie, a ghost, or anything else." She told her.

"There must be something bad about this plan if you're giving the item to me for free. What might Frances Mallory do if I ask for these items?" Cassandra questioned, she had always been a smart girl, and she was using her brain right now.

"Oh yes that well, there's a high chance that she might kill you." The witch stated in a bored tone, and Cassandra's eyes popped out of her socket.

* * *

I have to admit, that was a lot of writing, and a lot of stuff going on. But let me know what you guys thought of it. What was your favorite part? Sorry the Burb family was not in this episode. I'm not even sure if they'll be in the next one, but we'll see. Leave a review and let me know what you think.


	20. Episode 14

[Sorry guys! I know I haven't updated in a while but it's hard to get to a computer right now. Anyway, I hope you guys enjoy. This isn't really a happy episode Lastly thing, and this is VERY IMPORTANT. I realize that in my earlier chapters I said that Nervous figured out who he was and received money from his birth mother, but just continue reading the next few chapters, and I'll explain why.]

**Downhill: Episode 14**

**Angela is struggling with the divorce. Dustin isn't happy about the new living arrangements, and Cassandra finds out about Brandi and Darren. Jennifer is adjusting to being a vampire, but is John happy about it?**

_Wednesday _

Angela woke up a few minutes before her alarm clock went off. She made her way downstairs and almost started to cry when she saw the filled up boxes. After Friday, her father would be gone, off to Tiki Island with Kaylnn. It made her bitter. How could he do this to her? To her family. Did he ever care about them at all? She went back upstairs and made her way into the bathroom, then pulled out the dusty scale that hardly anyone used in the house.

_110 lb_

She was grossed out with her weight. She looked in the mirror and pinched her fat that was so apparent to her now. She knew what she had to do, she planned to exercise everyday and eat less fattening foods. She sighed, then looked away from the mirror, her image made her sick to her stomach, but it would all be off soon, she kept telling herself.

Suddenly, she heard everyone starting to get up. She heard the squeaking of the beds, and her mother muttering something about leaving (most likely for work). She put the scale back and made her way out of the bathroom like she was never there. She bumped into Lilith, but they both just made their separate ways. They hadn't been talking ever since the blow up on Monday.

* * *

"NO!" Dustin shouted in complete rage at his mother, "_C'est isane, vous n'êtes pas pret."_

_"Calme!" _Brandi silenced his son, "Now this is what's happening Dustin, and I'm not asking for your opinion in it. Me, you, Beau, and Ty are going to move into the Dreamers household. What's the big deal about it?"

"This is our house mom!" He said in an angry tone, "You want us to leave all the memories of Skip behind?"

Brandi sighed, "Dustin...Skip is gone now, and we can always bring his memories with us to the Dreamer household. We can take his pictures, his items, anything you want Dustin but please - we have to do this."

Silence.

"I know you don't like the idea right now but just think. You'll have another older person in the house to talk to. I mean Dirk is leaving soon but you should still have a few months with him you know? And you guys can teach each other." She told him.

"Like what? Dirk doesn't need to learn anything else. That's why he's leaving high-school so early." Dustin said in a bitter tone. He didn't like the idea at all. It wasn't his house to live in, or his dad to call father. It just wasn't right to him.

"Well Dirk speaks Afrikaans fluently and you speak French fluently, the two of you could learn from each other." She told him, and he scoffed, then rolled his eyes. He heard the sound of the bus and made his way outside.

"Bye!" Brandi shouted, but she received no response.

* * *

_Afternoon_

John Burb had finally gotten a paid day off, and he was ready to rewind and relax, but he knew that he wouldn't be able to today. A gypsy was coming with Jennifer's potion, and he wanted to be awake to open the door.

"John! Get over here!" She called, and John quickly made his way toward the voice.

He found her sitting down at the desk top, looking at something on the internet.

"Look at this! My books have been going out of stocks ever since I've become a vampire." She told him, sipping on her plasma juice, "This is the story that took me only a few days to create. It's a short story about the transformation of a vampire. It sold for 60 simoleons and over 200 copies have been sold so far. Even people in Veronaville have been reading my stuff!"

John gave an agitated groan, "Jennifer, you can't stay a vampire! What are you going to do, never go outside and visit your family?"

She shrugged her shoulders, "I'll talk to them at night, we'll throw a party here. What's wrong with me being a vampire John? I thought it was a bad idea too but look at how much money we're getting."

"This isn't about money!" He shouted, "This is about us as a family! You really think Lucy should have a vampire as a role model?"

"I'm still her mom, nothing has changed." She rolled her eyes.

"Nothing has changed!" He scoffed, "You're drinking plasma juice and looking online for pink coffins."

"Whatever look, let's just celebrate the fact that I'm making so many simoleons." She said in a seductive tone, forcing John to raise his eyebrow.

He was still confused as Jennifer grabbed his arm and led him to their bedroom.

* * *

"And that's how William Simspare went on to produce dozens of plays and stories. His stories really touch your heart, and make you feel something, and that's how you should all strive to write-"

The bell rang, and the kids were very anxious to get out, and Dustin was one of those kids. He practically ran out the door and bumped into Meadow in the process.

"I'm sorry." He said, picking up her books. She didn't say anything as she shuffled on her feet awkwardly. Dustin thought it was adorable, "Are we still meeting up after-school for tutoring?"

"Actually I don't think that's a good idea." She said, and Dustin's face practically fell, "Why?"

"I'm-"

"Hey babe." Randy came out of nowhere and she almost jumped. Seeing both Randy and Dustin was enough to make her face flush, but she kept her emotions in check. He kissed her and she didn't stop him, and Dustin just watched them awkwardly.

"Hey, you're that Broke kid right?" Randy said, and for some reason this angered him, "My family has enough money, I'm not broke!"

Randy took a step back, "Bro chill, I just thought Broke was your last name?"

"Whatever, I have to get out of here." Dustin said, brushing past the two of them.

"What was that about?" Randy turned to Meadow, and Meadow shrugged her shoulders, "I don't know, let's eat outside today."

He smiled, "Ok."

* * *

Dustin made his way over to an empty table. Gordon was gone now, he had done enough schooling to get a fairly decent job in the slacker career. He sighed as he thought of Meadow, he really did like her, now what was he supposed to do? He contemplated going over to talk to Lilith, but he wanted to give her and Dirk their space since they had just gotten back together. He even thought of talking to Angela about the situation, but even after numerous text, Angela wasn't replying to him. It was obvious that she was over him, but she wasn't ready to be friends, and from what he heard from Lilith about the divorce, he was sure she had a lot going on. As he sat consumed in his thoughts, he saw a face he never thought he would.

"Ivy?" He said, the words slipping out of his mouth before he could quiet himself.

"Dustin, hey." She smiled at him, and he looked at her like she was crazy, "What are you doing here?"

"Hi Ivy how are you? Fine Dustin, thanks for asking." She replied in a sarcastic tone.

"Hi." He said, and the two let out a small chuckle, "I'm back in school. I want to finish this year up and then go to summer school to make up for my absence."

"I thought you didn't care about school." He stated, and she shook her head, "It was the weed talking. Once you get addicted to that shit, it makes you not want to think about anything. There's some good things that come with it, like being able to forget and all that, but it's more trouble then what it's worth if you get addicted to it."

"And if you don't get addicted, if you only do it occasionally?" Dustin questioned her, and she shrugged her shoulders, "Eventually everyone gets addicted." She told him, but he didn't believe it.

"So you quit smoking weed?" He asked, and she nodded, "Yeah, but my friends don't know yet. They keep stuffing this weed into my backpack." She said in a low voice, pulling it out and putting it on the table, "I want to throw it away but I'll probably have to wait until after-school."

"That stuff smells like shit." He commented, and she laughed, "Hey, you've done it before."

"Oh yeah." He thought back on that, then shook his head, "It was horrible."

"Ivy! You're back?" A random townie interrupted, excited to see Ivy. Ivy ran up to her and they started talking, leaving Dustin alone.

"Wait your-" But it was too late, they were gone. He stuffed the weed into his bag, deciding to throw it out later.

* * *

"So I was thinking that since your boyfriend Randy wants to be a cheerleader now, we could have him join this month. We already know he'll make it." Tosha said as she looked at Meadow.

Meadow nodded, "Yeah that sounds good and then-"

She looked at Angela, and tapped her on the shoulder, "You alright?"

"Of course, why do you ask?" Angela said, and she pointed to her food, "You've been playing with your food for like ten minutes now."

"Oh I'm just a little full, I had a big breakfast today." She told her, and Meadow nodded and went back to her conversation. Tosha left after a few minutes to go be with her boyfriend, so Meadow took the time to talk to Angela about something important.

"Angela, what do you think of Dustin? Do you still like him?" She said, biting her bottom lip.

She shrugged her shoulders, "I really don't care about him like that anymore. He had lots of opportunities to be with me, and he chose not to. We shared something and now it's over. All I really want is to be friends you know?"

Meadow was shocked by this, "What changed Angela? You were like in love with him."

"Life changed, things happen and you just have to roll with the punches." She told her.

* * *

The police were doing the best they could do to track this guy down. They had just arrived at StrangeTown and a few under covers had been sent out to check the area.

"Demi, do you copy?" A police officer spoke into his walkie talkie. Demi was one of the best police officers in Pleasantview, but this was her biggest job yet, "Sir yes sir, I copy. I've just arrived at the Beaker residence, and I'm ready to question."

"Nice job. We have police officers right behind you in case he tries to escape. Just play it cool, ask a few questions, you got it." He told her, and she cleared her throat then knocked on the door.

Within a few minutes, the door opened, and she was surprised to see that it wasn't the suspect she thought would open the door. It was a tall man with strange features, and a need to scratch his skin every five minutes.

"Good afternoon sir, is this the Beaker residence?" She questioned, and he shrugged his shoulders, then scratched his skin again, "What's a Beaker?"

She was almost startled by his question, "Do you live with anyone that I may talk to?"

He nodded, "Yeah but they're gone."

"Were there names by chance Circe and Loki Beaker?" She asked, and he had to take a while to think about it.

"Well I don't remember names too well but I remember that they said they were leaving. Going away for a few weeks." He told her.

She looked through her papers of information, and she found a face that matched his, "Is your name by chance Nervous?"

He nodded and gave the lady a smile, "Yeah! That is my name. How did you know?"

"May I step inside Nervous?" She asked him patiently and he let her in. As she read about Nervous Beaker she knew that he was most likely a victim of abuse and neglect, even with his age.

She sighed, this was going to be a long investigation.

* * *

"And on the third day, Will Wright created the place we call Veronaville. He created all the land and the Sim Earth, and the fishes in the seas, and the birds in the air." Mortimer read from his religious book of Will Wright as he spoke to his child and smiled. Alexander was sick with something he had caught at school and Mortimer was hoping that he would get better soon. He made his way downstairs to get his child some more tea when he passed by Cassandras room and saw her putting clothes into her suitcases.

"What's going on?" Mortimer questioned, and Cassandra turned around to see her father, "Alright Mary, I have to go." She said, hanging up her phone and looking at her dad, "I'm going away for a few weeks. Taking a trip to Belladonna Cove."

"And when were you going to tell me?" He asked her.

"I was going to tell you today, I was just busy you know? I had to call my job and make sure everything was good and then Mary-Sue called so I just had to tell her about it." Cassandra said, and Mortimer gave her a half smile before giving her a hug, "Well alright, when are you leaving?"

"Tomorrow." She said, and he shrieked, "Cassandra!"

"I'm sorry dad, there's just something I really need to do out there." She told him.

"Have you told Darren?" He questioned, and she shook her head, "I haven't really spoken to Darren now that I think about it."

"He's probably busy with Brandi." Mortimer told her, and she gave him a weird look, "What do you mean busy with Brandi?"

"He didn't tell you? I saw them hanging out a few days ago. I think they're going out." He told her, and her jaw dropped, "Dad don't lie."

"I'm not." He told her, and she wanted to scream, "How could he be going out with Brandi?"

"He's a free man, and this is a free neighborhood. Why are you so upset?" Mortimer asked, clearly amused.

She sighed, "I just thought if he were ever going to get involved in another woman it would be-"

"You?" Mortimer interrupted, and she nodded, "Well you missed your shot. I told you that Darren was a good man, but you insisted in being with Don. Now Darren's moved on, and he seems pretty happy."

"Gee, thanks dad." She replied in a sarcastic tone.

He gave her a pat on the shoulder, "Don't worry about it, you'll find someone."

* * *

_Stay tuned for more episodes. And let me know what you guys think. Also I'm going to be changing my poll and I would love for you guys to check it out today._


	21. Episode 15

[Oh my gosh you guys. Not including this chapter, we only have five episodes before the season finale and all I can say is that it's going to be quite interesting.]

**Not So Pleasantview: Episode 15**

**Dustin is suspended from school. Dirk catches Angela doing something dangerous. Cassandra heads out to Belladonna Cove, and Lucy makes a new friend. **

Dustin watched the clock in boredom during his sixth period class. History. For some reason, he always hated history. He thought it was stupid, they were stupid. They made so many stupid mistakes.

"...The SimNatives were very peaceful and full of zen. They only killed animals when necessary, but most of them ate from the plants in the ground and the fruit grown on the trees. They lived in the parts of the world that are now places like Twikii Island." the teacher droned on, and Dustin started to groan.

_Just ten more minutes, _he told himself.

"Now let's talk about Admiral Landgrab. He is the nations most tragic hero. After dashing-"

The teacher was interrupted when the door to her classroom was opened, and in come a few of the high-school police officers.

"We're having a random drug search today." the police explained, but Dustin didn't care, he just wanted to go home.

He checked through all the aisle's, and everyone was clean. When the police officer got to him, the dog started barking like crazy. Dustin's eyes widened and he moved away from the dog because he thought it would bite him at any second.

"Sir, I'm going to need to see your backpack." he said, and Dustin handed it to him no problem.

The police officer inspected the bag and found weed in it, so he told him to get up. Dustin's blood ran cold, he had totally forgot about the weed he was going to throw away for Ivy. Dammit!

"No wait, sir please. I can assure you that it's not mine." he said, completely innocent this time.

"Yeah let's go talk to the principal about this." the police officer replied, not believing a word Dustin said.

* * *

Dirk was listening intently to what the teacher was saying, or at least he was trying. He knew that he was going on and on about something math related, but he wasn't sure what. He tapped the kid who sat next to him, Alvin Futa. Alvin was the nerd of the school only because he skipped two grades. Everyone teased him...well almost everyone.

"Hey can you send me a picture of the notes?" Dirk asked him, and he nodded. With only ten minutes of class left, Dirk was starting to feel sleepy. He raised his hand and the teacher looked at him excitedly.

"You want to answer the question?" the teacher said with hopeful eyes, but Dirk just shook his head, "Uh no, sorry. I just wanted to know if I could use the bathroom."

The teacher sighed, "Sure just take the pass."

Dirk grabbed the pass and started making his way out the room. He drew in a breath, feeling like he needed to just take a minute to not think about school. No one truly realized how much pressure it was for Dirk to be going to college so early. He had to maintain a 4.0 GPA. He had to keep his girlfriend Lilith happy, and he had to grow up faster than any of his friends. He knew college would be a rough start, and he knew how much work he was going to have to put in, but yet he still wanted to to do it.

SimState University had been his dream ever since he was a child. Darren always talked to him about how he didn't go to college, and he didn't want to be like his dad, selling paintings just to get by. Although he was good at art, he wanted something that would keep him and Lilith happy. Something professional like a lawyer, mayor, or doctor. Something that would make his family, and his girlfriend proud.

He started to walk around the halls of Pleasantview High. He had no intention of going back inside his classroom. He suddenly heard strange gurgling sounds, and when he listened for long enough, he knew it was throwing up. It was coming from the girls bathroom. He couldn't go in there, but he waited by the door to see who would come out.

He was shocked to see that it was Angela. Angela jumped back, completely startled to see Dirk standing there, "What are you doing over here!"

Dirk was at loss for words, "I uh, I was going to the bathroom...were you throwing up in there?"

She shuffled on her feet and he could tell she was nervous. She started to stutter, "T-the s-school lunch made me s-sick alright?"

Dirk nodded but for some reason he didn't believe her, "Are you sure you're ok?"

She nodded, and they stood in silence for a while. Dirk could see that her eyes were watery, and for some reason he wanted to help her. Dirk and Angela were never really friends, but they were always on good terms.

"I-I have to get to class." she said, turning on her pink flats and making her way to her sixth period.

And for some reason, Dirk was dying to know what was going on.

* * *

After school, Lucy was making her way home. She missed the bus and now she had to walk. Her feet were tired but she was thankful that she knew her way around the neighborhood. Her walk home was only 25 minutes. She passed by numerous streets before hearing light foot steps, almost nonhuman like, behind her. She turned her head, and at first she saw nothing so she continued to walk.

When she was almost home, she heard it again, and this time she turned around and paused for a moment. She looked down, and saw that it was a dog. The dog was huge! With rough patches of hair on it. It looked so adorable still. She wanted to pet it but what if it bit her? Still, maybe her parents would let her keep the dog. She looked for any collars, hoping maybe an owner had lost their dog. She found none.

"You must have been a stray for a long time." she said, staring at the dogs yellow eyes. A look of helplessness seemed to be in the dogs eyes, and it only made Lucy want to know more about it.

She continued to let the dog follow her, looking back every few minutes to make sure that the dog was still there. When she finally made her way home, she knocked on the door and her father opened it quickly, happy to see Lucy.

"You were supposed to be home a while ago! What happened?" he asked.

"I missed the bus." she admitted.

"I see..." he looked over her shoulder, and saw a stray dog there. It was ugly, he thought to himself, "who's the little friend you got there?"

Lucy's smile widened, "I haven't named him yet, but I was wondering if we could take this dog in."

John sighed, "Honey I don't know if that's such a good idea."

She gave him the best puppy dog face she could give, "Please! Please! Please! It won't even cost anything. I'll get the money for his baths myself, and he'll just eat scraps of food that fall off the dinner table every night. And plus my birthday is in a few days! This would be the perfect birthday gift."

John chuckled at how naive she was, "A dog is much more of a responsibility than that. Why don't you come on in? And I'll think about it."

That was enough for her, but she would be checking all the time to see if the dog was still out there. When she walked in, she finally noticed her dads attire.

"Why are you only wearing a robe?" she questioned, and he tried to stop the heat from rising to his cheeks.

"It's a grown up thing to do." he told her, letting out a nervous laugh. He then made sure that no sunlight was showing in the house, before going to check on his wife Jennifer.

"Wait dad!" she said, and he turned his head, "What's up honey?"

"Is mom really sick? Or is she a vampire?" she asked, knowing that everything seemed to match. Her skin was pale, her teeth seemed sharper, and her eyes were red. Not to mention she had found countless bottles of empty plasma juice, and only vampires drank that.

She waited for an answer, but it never came. John couldn't bring himself to tell her that Jennifer was a vampire, but he knew she would figure it out soon.

He made his way into Jennifer's room to see her sleeping on the bed very peacefully. They had just made love to each other, and John wasn't going to lie, her vampire instincts really kicked in at the time. He laid down next to her, planting kisses on her cheeks. She only moaned his name, forcing John to smirk, and continued to sleep.

* * *

Night time came, and everyone was enjoying Alexanders party. He had grown up to be a healthy, smart, teenager. He looked so much like Mortimer when he was younger, that brought his father to tears. He hugged him and planted kisses on his head as everyone enjoyed the party.

The party only consisted of a few of their friends. Mary-Sue was there, and so was Daniel, but they weren't really talking. The twins were there, and Mortimer had invited Darren, but he had to stay home and see how the first day of having Brandi and her kids at his house went. Mortimer invited all of his retired friends from work, and Alexander invited Martha, who was conveniently having her birthday too. He wanted her to come because he knew that townies never really celebrated their birthday, and he thought it would be nice of him.

When they both become teenagers, Alexander could feel the attraction he had for her. He had already had a crush on her, and he hoped that with his new life as a teen, something could happen between them. They started to dance, and Mortimer looked at them with a wide smile on their face. The party ended at ten o'clock, and everyone made their way out expect Mary-Sue.

"Dad, remember that trip I was talking about?" Cassandra asked.

Mortimer nodded, "Yeah, you're leaving tomorrow right?"

"Well actually, I kind of want to go ahead and leave today, that way I can get there in the morning. Mary has already agreed to drive me over there, I just have to pay her a small fee." she told him, then whispered in his ear, "Her and Daniel are practically divorced now, and she's going to have to take care of two kids by herself so I have no problem paying her."

"But it's Alexanders birthday." he argued, but he knew it wouldn't change anything.

"I know that, and you know I love Alexander. He's my brother, but I'm about to get our entire family the biggest gift in the world. I just need to go to Belladonna Cove." she told him, and after a long argument, he caved in.

"Be safe." he mumbled, and she smiled.

She gave her dad a kiss on the cheek, then walked over to his brother and pulled him into a big bear hug.

"I love you Alexander, and I'm so happy you grew up well. Maybe when I come back, things will be even better." she told him, but he didn't understand it.

No one did, she was going to get Bella back, she just had to.

* * *

It was 11:00 and Lucy was still up. She could still see the dog sitting out there, looking into the house anxiously. At first she found it creepy, but she wanted this dog, so she was glad it stayed. John ended up voting no against the dog after realizing how dangerous it could be. But it couldn't be any harm to just sit and watch right?

After minutes of arguing with herself, she made her way outside in attempt to shoo the dog away. If she couldn't keep it, she didn't want to have to look at it all night. She wished the dog could come inside, but she knew it couldn't. She started to shoo the dog away, but it didn't move, which sort of frightened her. It started to howl at the moon, and Lucy titled her head as she looked at it.

Then without warning, the dog bit her.

"AHH!" she let out a blood curdling scream, as the dog ran away. She looked at her hand, bruised and swollen. The red mark wasn't going anywhere for a while. She suddenly felt faint. She fell to the ground and she didn't even hear her father and mother screaming at her.

He checked the bite, and being a doctor he knew just what it was.

Werewolves.

"Great, more supernatural shit." he muttered under his breath, "We have to get her to the hospital Jen, let's go!"

* * *

Hope you enjoyed, the next chapter will focus more on family bonding and also what the police are figuring out in StrangeTown. Leave a review, the next episode will be up soon. And please don't forget to answer the poll.


	22. Episode 16

[Sorry I haven't updated in a while. I haven't really been in the mood to write this story and I've had a lot going on...This chapter is pretty long though. Roughly 4,000 words.]

**Pressure: Episode 16**

**Dirk and Dustin struggle to get along. Cassandra starts her journey at Belladonna Cove and finds more than she's looking police continue to investigate Bella's death but it just might be too late. And some new residents move to Pleasantview during the midst of all this.**

_Sunday Morning_

"Mom, how long are we going to be at this place?" Tina asked her mother as she tugged on the hem of her shirt.

It was early morning and the Traveller family had just moved into a new house in Pleasantview. They spent a long time travelling from place to place but they felt like they had seen it all. They'd been to all the islands and neighborhoods but when they saw how much it was affecting their daughter Tina, who had to jump from school to school, they decided to finally pick a place to settle down.

There were a lot of rumors going on about Pleasantview, some good and some bad. But, it looked decent enough. Although they wanted to go to a more exotic place like Riverblossom Hills, or Tikki Islands, the couple agreed that it was far out of the budget plan. They didn't have much money after travelling like two teens with a child. They were finally ready to settle down and start fresh.

Trisha ignored her daughter's question as she grabbed another box. The truck driver kindly got out and started unloading the boxes for them, and they all helped by carrying at least one.

"Mom, we've never had this many boxes for a temporary home before." Tina mentioned to her mother, and her mother smiled. She tapped her daughter's nose and gave a little grin, "Well that's because this isn't a temporary home."

Tina's eyes widened at her mother's response, "So-"

"We're going to live here." she said in a gleeful matter.

Tina didn't share a squeal or anything; she just nodded and made her way inside the house. If she was being honest with her mother she would tell her that she didn't really believe her, but she decided to just let her mother be happy. Tina also wasn't that excited to be moving here because she wanted to move back to Sim City. She was use to the downtown way of doing things, and the easy going way of the city life. She missed all of her friends and her teachers at school, but she would have to suck it up and make friends in this new place...Pleasantview. When they got the last box in, Tina made her way outside and just looked around. The neighborhood seemed pretty friendly, but she had read tons of magazines on it, and she was mature enough to know that this place wasn't as perfect as it seemed. She looked up at the puffy clouds as the sun hit her skin and she felt relaxed and at peace. As she stood there for a few minutes, she saw someone coming toward her, and she turned her attention toward the little girl with the brown hair. She was pretty, with light skin and shinning grey eyes. She was wearing a purple top and a blue skirt that quite frankly didn't look too put together in Tina's eyes.

"Hi! I saw a big truck come over here and I couldn't help but think that there was a new sim moving in so I thought I'd welcome myself." She smiled, her eyes shining at Tina.

Tina reached out her hand to shake the girls hand, "Nice to meet you, I'm Tina."

"Brittnay." She responded, "I'm a townie."

Tina mouthed an 'oh' and gave her a smile, she was used to townies all the time in Sim City. Most of the townies downtown were her friends, "I'm a pre-made."

Brittnay chuckled, "Well obviously. You're getting your own house. Townies don't even usually get houses. We sleep in abandoned ones and we usually sleep with like six other people."

She shrugged her shoulders at the girl, "So what school do you go to?"

"Pleasantview Community Middle School. You'll probably be going there too unless you get into a private school." she smiled, and Tina was glad that she was that she had met a potential friend.

"I doubt I'll get into a private school. My parents aren't really the type to be strict with me when it comes to school. Back in Sim City, I hardly even went to school, we were always travelling. They told me that's the best way to learn things, not rummaging through some book written by dead people." she explained and the girl laughed.

"Your parents sound funny. Well maybe I'll see you at school on Monday. If you take the bus then I'll talk to you then. Bye! And welcome to Pleasantview." she smiled, and then skipped off.

Tina shook her head but let out a little giggle, maybe Pleasantview wasn't so bad after all.

* * *

"WELL I'M NOT THE ONE BEING A SLOB ABOUT EVERYTHING! I MEAN SERIOUSLY JUST PICK YOUR FREAKING S-"

"HEY! WHAT'S ALL THE YELLING ABOUT! YOU'RE GOING TO WAKE UP-"

Before Brandi could finish her sentence the little toddler started to cry. She rolled her eyes at the two teens then picked up Ty, who had just turned a toddler a few days ago, and set him on the high chair, "Guess you'll just have breakfast now." she muttered as she checked the clock.

_10 AM_

Usually TY didn't wake up until at least 11:30, sometimes even 12 pm. She fed him spoonfuls of baby food and he stubbornly shook his head, forcing her to groan.

"Oh now you're going to throw a tantrum too?" she said, raising her eyebrow at the child in a challenging matter. She dropped the spoonful in defeat, "Fine then, and feed yourself Ty."

She sighed then ran a finger through her matted hair as she looked at the two boys. Darren came downstairs a few seconds later and gave Brandi a half smile as he kissed her on the cheek. He then turned to the boys, "What is the arguing about this time?"

"IT ALL STARTED WHEN HEDECIDEDTHATHEWANTEDTOLEAVEALLHISFILITHY-"

"OK STOP YOU TWO!" he yelled, silencing the two teens, "Take a deep breath. Now, Dirk, please explain to me calmly what's going on here?"

Dirk took a deep breath then looked at his father, "Ok well, I had just gotten home after taking my driver's test-"

"And how did that go?" he asked curiously.

"Fine dad, I passed it." he said, waving off the entire ordeal, "Anyway, I got home and I just wanted to cook a nice meal and all of Dustin's dirty crap was on the counter. He seriously can't just wash his bowls dad? If I did that, you would have sent me to my room."

Dustin rolled his eyes, "Maybe I was tired from work and didn't have time to do it. You're not the only one who does stuff around here."

"Oh right, so you were so tired from your stupid job that you couldn't clean your dirty dishes? Well I've got news for you Dustin, it's called welcome to the real world. Things aren't always easy you know?" he said, and Dustin moved towards his face as he glared at him. He bawled his fist up and before Brandi could exclaim he landed a hard punch to his gut.

Dirk doubled over and groaned. Darren and Brandi were more than shocked when they saw this happen. Brandi handed Ty to Darren and grabbed Dustin by the ear, ignoring his hissing.

"_Qu'est-ce que c'est votre problème! Excuses!" _she looked at him with dagger eyes, and he knew that he had better not try and challenge her.

She let go of his ear and he turned and sighed as he looked at Dirk, "I'm sorry Dirk. I-I didn't mean to."

"Oh so what your hand just accidentally balled their fists up and landed to my stomach?" Dirk glared, and Darren sighed as he held on tight to Ty. He was surprised that Beau was still asleep with all the commotion.

"_Lekker wees__._" Darren told his son, whose eyes widened with shock.

"You want me to be nice? No, I can't be nice anymore. This whole family thing, it's just not going to work out. I'm sorry dad, I know you've been doing great finding your soul mate and all that, but I can't do this right now. I have too much to focus on." He said, then sighed, "I'm going to the park with Lilith."

With that he stormed his way out of the house, and all eyes fell on Dustin. He held his hands up defensively, "What? I apologized!"

"You're in enough trouble after the whole weed incident-"

"I told you I didn't do it!"

"Don't you dare interrupt me Dustin; just go to your room."

"But-"

"NOW!"

He sighed, and angrily made his way up to his room. He hated it; it was like no one got him at all. He made his way into the room and then slammed the door, causing Beau to wake up. He sighed and took a seat on the bed, "Sorry to wake you bud."

Beau yawned and sat up, "It's no problem, and you look upset, what's going on?"

Dustin proceeded to tell him the entire story. He was happy to have his little bro with him. Beau was the only one who appreciated him in the house.

"I believe you." he said to Dustin, and Dustin shot him a confused look.

"What are you talking about?" he questioned.

"I know you didn't smoke the weed. I believe your story Dustin." he said, and Dustin smiled, "Thanks bro."

* * *

"And then he punched me in the stomach! Can you believe that?" Dirk exclaimed as he and Lilith sat at the park.

"Yeah, it's crazy." she told him, only half paying attention.

Dirk noticed this right away and he waved a hand in front of her face, "You alright?"

Lilith sighed, "I'm sorry Dirk. I was listening believe me it's just, my minds a little preoccupied right now."

"Talk to me." he told her, and she shook her head, "It's-"

"Don't say it's nothing Lilith. We're a couple; we have to talk to each other about what's going on. I mean, I just did that with you." he said and she chuckled, "Yeah, and apparently I wasn't being a good girlfriend because I was only half listening. But I'll talk to Dustin about it later, and see if I can fix things."

A hinge of jealousy shot through Dirks eyes for a moment, "You still talk to Dustin?"

Lilith nodded her head and looked at him like he was crazy, "Of course. We text almost every day, and we usually hang out on the weekends but he's grounded for the whole weed thing."

"I thought you were just talking to him because we weren't together." he told her, and she let out a laugh.

"Maybe at first because I had no friends but I don't know Dustin started to grow on me." she told him, and he mumbled an 'oh'.

Lilith noticed his sadness so she changed the subject, "Anyway, I guess I've been a little worried about how Angela's taking the divorce."

"Oh right, your parents' divorce, well first how are you taking it? I mean you all grew up together in that little house and now your dads not going to be in it. And you're going to have to visit him in Tikki Island every month which is pretty expensive."

"Well I'm not worried about the costs, my dad has enough money and he'll pay for us to get there. And as for the divorce, I'm sad about it, but I always saw it coming. I don't know, I guess it will probably hit me when it's official. But I noticed that Angela has been looking really skinny." she muttered the last part.

Dirk gulped, "Do you think she's...starving herself?"

Lilith nodded, "She could be, she seems really stressed and not her usual annoying perky self. I didn't tell my mom because she's been so busy with the divorce and everything. And last night she wasn't at home because she dropped Cassandra off to Belladonna Cove for some unknown reason. And today she's going to be in the hospital for most of the day with my cousin Lucy."

"What happened to Lucy?" he asked.

"She got bitten by a werewolf." she sighed, "So I was thinking of having an intervention. I just have to call up her little friends which will be really awkward, and maybe Dustin and you could join me, and we could get her eating again. I don't want her to die." Lilith said, and for the first time she had to bite her lip to hold back tears.

Dirk grabbed his girlfriend and hugged her close to his body. He kissed the top of her head and tried his best to calm her down, "I know you care about her, she just needs to hear that. And she needs to know that everything is going to be ok. She's not going to die Lilith. We won't let her."

At this, Lilith gave a small smile, then closed her eyes and rested on Dirk for the remainder of the time they spent together.

* * *

"Oh gosh Mary, it's fantastic out here. First thing tomorrow I'm going to go ahead and do what I set out to do, but for now, I'm really enjoying the hotel. It's so nice, and pretty. I'll send you lots of pictures." Cassandra told her.

"Well that's great Cassandra! I'm really glad you're enjoying it. Listen I have to go. Pray to Will Wright for Lucy, she got bitten by a werewolf. Oh gosh, she doesn't look so good. Got to go! Bye!" she said, then hung up the phone rather quickly.

Cassandra sighed and hung up as well. There were a lot of things that Cassandra wanted to talk to Mary about, but she could understand why she had to go. She silently prayed that Lucy would be ok. _That poor girl. I heard werewolf bites are the worst._

She made her way outside of the hotel and decided to go out to the back to the pool. She watched the friendly scene as people laughed and jumped into the pool. She saw some little children chasing each other, a little boy eating some chocolate, and a couple of friends starting a barbecue. She sighed and took a seat on one of the reclined chairs and let herself get soaked in the warm rays of the sun. She pulled out an interesting book on magic when she felt someone tap her shoulder.

"Um, I couldn't help but notice that you're reading one of my favorite books. _Magic Town: 2 _right?" the guy asked in a bit of a nervous tone, but Cassandra found it a little cute.

"Yeah, it's pretty neat right?" she smiled as she put the book down and smiled at him.

He cleared his throat, "I'm Armand...Armand DeBateau."

"Armand, you own a pretty big business here, or so I've heard. I'm Cassandra...Cassandra G-" she paused for a minute, running a finger through her hair that was out of it's pony-tails now. She didn't want this guy to know that she was the daughter of a missing mother and an extremely rich father. Even though she knew he probably wouldn't care about money, she wanted to see if they could just talk without the titles, "Just Cassandra actually. I hate last names."

He chuckled, "Alright then. Hey, there's a party going on tomorrow at my place. If you want to come, here's the card for all the info. you need."

She smiled at him, "Well I'll see if I can make it."

His smile grew wider, "Great. See you around_ just_ Cassandra." And with that he walked off.

Cassandra was lucky for her tan skin, because she felt like her face was red as a tomato.

* * *

"Nervous Subject, it says here that moved out years ago, and you obtained a large amount of money from your birth mother Olive." the police officer said, glancing up from her clipboard to look at Nervous. Something seemed to go off in Nervous' brain when she said Olive. He paused for a second, and stopped eating the roach infested sandwich in his hands. He dropped the sandwich, as if he had just heard that someone died or something.

"Nervous! Are you ok sir?" the police shouted, and he shook his head and turned to look at her, forcing a smile onto his face, he nodded, "I'm just fine."

He took a seat, but he looked a little uneasy, and suddenly everything came swirling back into his mind. Demi noticed this and didn't want to push him, but if there was any dirt that she could find on Loki Beaker, then it would be a good day for her. She went to the kitchen and poured a glass of fresh water for him, and he drank it eagerly. She looked into his eyes and gently touched the palm of his hand.

"Nervous...I'm going to ask you a few questions, and I need an honest answer." she told him, and he nodded hesitantly.

"Firstly, do you know why I'm here?" she questioned.

"To figure out where Loki is right?" he said, and she gave him a smile and nodded.

"Yes, and you are going to help me with that. But first, why is your name Nervous Subject if you were adopted by the Beaker family?" she questioned.

He pinched his nose as he looked for an answer, he was trying to think as he hard as he could, and it took him a few minutes to come up with the answer, "When I become a child I was already adopted by them, and they told me that I could keep my own last name, but since I never remembered it, I came up with the name Subject."

Demi nodded as she continued asking questions, "Do you remember running away from home?"

He pondered the thought for a second and at first shook his head, but five minute later he remembered and his eyes lit up, as if he was replaying the scene.

_He was home alone again and very thankful for it. He knew if his dad were here he would start 'testing' him again, and he didn't want that. The tests hurt him, a lot. Circe seemed to be concerned for him but eventually she just let it go on. He took a step outside and was fearful of the idea that his parents were coming back home. He was never allowed outside, and often had to sneak to other peoples houses. He made his way to the mailbox and took it out, thinking that he should bring the bills in the house for his parents. He tried to do everything for them, even if they didn't care for him. When he pulled it out it didn't look like the papers that he usually received. It was a letter, and as he spelled out the individual letters he realized that it was a letter to him. He had trouble reading it but after several minutes of re-reading sentences he figured out what it said._

_In a nutshell, it was a letter from his birth mother Olive, saying that she had passed away and telling him to move out and get a house with the money in the envelope. It explained to him that he was old enough to do it, though he never knew. He couldn't remember what age he was, and he had no idea how to do half of the things a normal sim could do, but when he heard about this, stuff came flashing back to him, and eventually he moved out and found a place of his own. _

Nervous hadn't even realized he was telling the police all this, tears started to fall down his face. He rubbed his eyes to try and get it away but they never stopped coming. Demi wanted to just reach over and give him a big hug, but she just stood up and walked around the room for a minute. She looked out the window and noticed that it was night time now. This had been the second week that they were in Strange Town and she saw that the police officers were respectively switching shifts as they watched her from outside the house. She turned back to Nervous and adjusted her voice recorder to make sure she was getting everything recorded.

"What kind of tests did they have you do Nervous?" she questioned when he finally stopped crying.

He sniffled, "All kinds of stuff. They would stab me with those needles and put stuff into my body that would almost kill me. They would make me exercise until I was so tired I couldn't stand and then they would electrocute my body. Circe always told him to stop but he never listened."

"So after you moved out, what happened? Why are you back here?" she asked, taking a seat and looking over at Nervous.

"Well it had been months since I hadn't lived with them and I was living with my sister Ophelia. One day she went out and I remember...I remember someone coming into my house and before I can scream they put some cloth over me and I passed out. When I woke up I was back here again, and I didn't remember anything that happened until now." he admitted, and Demi scribbled all of this down.

_Perfect._ She felt like she had gotten the information she needed. Just on this information alone she could lock him up, but there were different rules for each neighborhood, so she would have to take him away for associating with someone from Pleasantview. It was the only way. However, if he had these kind of strikes on him, it would be much easier.

"Thank you for your help Nervous. Now a few more questions before I go. You said your parents left without any explanation?" she said, and he rubbed his temples together, forcing himself to think.

He nodded, "Yes, they told me nothing. Although late at night, I was gonna get some food and I heard my parents talking in their bedroom, saying that people were on to them and that they were going to have to do something drastic."

"And do you remember a lady named Bella Goth by chance?" she questioned, and he paused for a moment.

"Bella...Goth?" he cleared his throat, then shook his head, trying to forget about it.

"If you know something, now would be the time to speak." she advised him.

He drew in a shaky breath before talking to the cop, "Those few months that I left, were probably the worst for Bella. I never saw it directly but I could hear screams and noises coming from the Beaker household. It sounded like me when I had to take those tests. No on ever seemed to bother the Beaker household about it though because they had so much power here. They were rich, successful, and they had friends that could rip you to shreds."

Demi's eyes widened at this, she felt it in her heart. The Beakers were planning something, and something big, "Did you hear anything else?" she questioned, desperately hoping for him to say yes.

But he shook his head and sighed, "That's all the information I can give you."

She shook his hand, "Thank you Nervous. You have done more than enough. And if I were you, I would report everything you just told me before they come back. Have a nice day, and if you need any help I'm only a phone call away. 9 - 1 - 1. Don't forget that."

He gave her hand a firm shake and said he wouldn't. She made her way out the house and the police officers came up to her, "Did you find anything?" the head officer replied, and she gave him a firm nod.

"We have to move quickly you guys, I feel like the Beakers are definitely on to something." she said.

* * *

Stay tuned for more episodes. Only four more episodes until the season finale.


	23. Episode 17

[I'm sorry that I haven't really been updating this story. But I hope you guys enjoy. There are only three episodes left. Message me your predictions on what's going to happen!]

**The cops discover some shocking news about the Beaker family that might affect the entire Pleasantview neighborhood. Cassandra comes face to face with Frances Mallory. Angela and Dustin have a heart to heart talk. Beau gets close to the new girl and Jennifer has the ultimate decision on Lucy's life. **

**Rush: Episode 17**

"Demi, you've done a great job. How did you get all of that information out of the kid?" the police officer asked, astonished as he read through the papers of information she had written.

"He opened up to me." she mumbled as she thought of the poor kid. She wondered if he would ever be ok after everything he was put through. Interrupting her thoughts the police slapped her on the back and smiled, "This is great. But now we need to figure out where the Beaker family has headed to. They've probably been gone for days, maybe even weeks. It's not like we can go to every place out there."

The other police officers stood around, trying to think of a plan, but Demi already had one.

"Sir?"

"Yes?"

"I think I have an idea."

"Brilliant, let's hear it."

"Well...from what I've gathered, I would say that the Beaker family is probably two of the hardest criminals out here. So maybe, if we used our trackers we could locate the place that has the most crimes going on, and we can figure out where they are."

"That's a brilliant idea! Alright, I want all of you guys to get to work. Locate your trackers, and report back to me and well figure out where to go from there! Go!"

The police officers scattered off, but Demi stayed behind for a while, "Sir? I have a request."

"Anything Demi. You ask, I'll get it."

"I want to take Nervous with me." she said, and his jaw dropped, "Why would you want to take Nervous?"

"You should have seen the look on his face when I had to ask him all these questions. If by chance the Beaker family comes back for him and we don't get back here in time, they'll just abuse him again, and no one deserves that. It's clear that his mind isn't at the level that any adult should be at, so how could he really fight them off? Or think straight when it came to this stuff? And I think once we find these guys, send them to court, and arrest them, he'll feel safer seeing it all, not having to worry about whose going to hurt him next." she said, biting her lip to hold back tears.

He stayed silent for a while, "Demi you know this is a dangerous journey. He could get hurt."

"He's been hurt. If he's anything, he's strong sir."

In a hesitant voice he said, "Fine, we'll take him with us. But he can't slow us down so you make sure he keeps up with the rest of the officers."

Demi smiled, "Thank you officer."

She brought Nervous out and he gave her a confused look, "Where are we going?"

"You're coming with us. We're going to find your parents Nervous."

"No! Don't send me back to them please!" he begged, and she patted him on the back, "We won't Nervous. We're going to make sure that you're safe. Just, trust me on this ok?"

He nodded.

Everyone got there trackers and tried to locate where the most crimes were taking place, but something seemed off about it. Demi pulled out her tracker and noticed that there had been a lot of crimes in Veronaville which didn't sound right, Riverblossom Hills, a series of islands and Desiderata Valley. It seemed to be going through a series of neighborhoods and Demi opened her mouth, completely shocked.

"Oh shit." she said, and the officer looked up at her with a knowing look, "What is it Demi? This is all a little sketchy."

"Don't you guys see it?" she raked a finger through her hair and bit on her lip, completely stressed, "They're going through all of the neighborhoods. I think they're forming an..." she shook her head, "No, no, no. We have to go, now!"

The police officer grabbed her arm, "Speak clearly Demi."

She looked up at him with a fearful face, "They probably saw what happened on TV. They knew we were coming for them all along. So they packed up their fucking shit, and they started hitting every place they could think of. Forcing people to come and fight with them. They're coming to Pleasantview officer. They're going to start a war."

The officer's face seemed to match hers now. It all made sense, "Alright you guys! Let's go! The last place they hit up was," he checked his tracker, "Desiderata Valley, and they seem to be on their way to Belladonna Cove. Let's move!"

Everyone started running to their cars. Demi grabbed Nervous' hand and said, "Everything will be ok." They both made their way into a police car, and Demi just prayed to Wright that they would be able to track these people down.

* * *

Cassandra couldn't get the gorgeous sim with the blonde hair and business suite on out of her mind. She woke up with a smile on her face as she got out of bed. Throwing the covers back over the bed lazily, she got dressed for another day. She had her heart set on finding that witch, and nothing would stop her. She glanced at the card that Armand had given her; it had his number on it which she strangely hadn't noticed before. She shook the thought of calling him out of her head; nothing would stop her from finding that witch, not even a cute successful sim like Armand.

She checked her locations to make sure she got it right. She had asked around and even though some people were curious as to why she would ask for an evil witch, they gave her some directions.

_"She usually hangs around Central Park."_

She remembered an elderly sim saying to her. She made her way out, already hearing the honk of the Taxi driver. Once she got to Central Park, she noticed how beautiful it was. Although Pleasantview was a pretty neighborhood on its own, it was nothing compared to some of the places in Belladonna Cove. She waited around, hoping that she would see that witch when she was suddenly bombarded by cameras.

She put a hand over her face, moving away from the flashy cameras.

"It's Cassandra Goth!"

"Cassandra! Can you tell us what you're doing here?"

"How do you feel about Don being in jail?"

"Who's going to inherit your dad's money? You or your brother?"

She felt the anger boil inside her as she made a run for it. The reporters chased after her but after running around Central Park for quite a while, they grew tired and left her alone. She sighed as she took off her pigtails that were a dead giveaway. Couldn't reporters just understand that she wanted to have some time alone?

She shook the thought out of her head and started to wait for the evil witch. Hour after hour nothing happened, only townies came into Central Park and she was starting to wonder if the witch would ever show up. After endless hours of searching for her, she gave up. It was already 10:00. She whined to herself about how she could have called Armand, or went for a swim, but then she realized why she was here. Not for her own selfish needs, but for her mother, for her family even. The second she thought that, she looked up, and there she saw it, an evil witch on a broom. She just prayed to Wright that it was the witch she was looking for.

The witch came down from her broom and was ready to rewind and relax. She had endured a long day of creating potions and destruction, and she wanted to rest at the Central Park. She knew no one usually came during those hours, so she wisely decided to go at night.

"Come on Evil." she instructed, patting her black cat on the back. The cat quickly followed after her.

"Frances?" Cassandra said almost timidly.

The witch turned to look at the voice that had called her. She had a scowl on her face that frightened Cassandra. She walked toward the girl, pointing a bony finger in her face, "Who. Are. You?"

Those three words sent shivers down Cassandra's back. She backed away a little, and Frances gave a smirk knowing it was her who made Cassandra crumble in fear, "M-My name's Cassandra...and I was wondering if I could purchase a few items from you."

Frances Mallory played with her nails as she circled around the young girl, forcing Cassandra to feel rather uneasy. She took one whiff of her, and she knew that something was off, "What are you?"

Cassandra shot her a confused look, "What am I?"

"Yes, what are you? Neutral, good, or Evil!" she snapped, rolling her eyes at the young girl.

"None...I'm just human."

"You must be something else. You smell...non-human. It's quite a peculiar smell, some type of magic must be involved." she stated, squinting her eyes at the young girl.

"I promise on my Creator, that I am nothing more than a human, interested in purchasing a few things from you."

"Stand still, I must test a few things out." she said, ignoring the young girl's statement. She whipped out her wand, and a lightning bolt appeared, aiming dead at Cassandra who shrieked and attempted to run away.

Strangely, the lightning bolt only bounced off of the girl and hit the witch instead, forcing Frances to let out a blood curdling scream. It only lasted a few seconds, because she didn't make it that strong. Frances took a look at the young girl, completely shocked.

"You - what did you say your name was again?" she pointed at her.

"Cassandra..." she re-stated her name.

"Cassandra what?"

"Uh, Cassandra Goth."

Her eyes widened in shock, and Cassandra looked at her with a confused face. _Surely an evil witch couldn't be interested in my family's fortune. _

"You will come with me." she ordered her, and Cassandra couldn't fight the tight grip the witch had on her as she pulled her on her broom and flew away.

()()()

"Have you been watching the news lately?"

Lilith gave him a look, "When do I ever watch the news?"

Dustin laughed, "Well I don't either but at the Dreamer household, they watch the news every morning, and drink coffee, because they're just so much better than everyone else."

Lilith patted him the shoulder, "Dirk doesn't think he's better than you alright? He's just...not used to having a brother. Can you blame him? He was an only child before you showed up."

"Yeah but that doesn't mean he can be a jackass."

She waved off his statement, "So what happened on the news?"

"There's been some crimes going on in Veronaville." he told her, and Lilith raised an eyebrow at him, "It can't be. I mean, they're definitely not the most peaceful place, but they don't really do crimes as far as I know. Well, there was that one time when the two wealthiest families, got killed but that was a long time ago."

"Yeah well, something seems off. But of course the news reporters and police officers never want to tell us shit." he said, and Lilith nodded in agreement.

"So how is Angela?"

Lilith sighed, "I really don't know. Have you seen her around today?"

"Nope. I don't really have any classes with her, expect study hall."

Lilith looked around, and then whispered in Dustin's ear, "I think she's starving herself."

"What!"

"Yeah...I don't know, it's just. She looks skinnier, and she doesn't really eat at home even when I try to get her to eat."

"We have to do something."

"Can you talk to her during study hall?"

"By _we _I meant, _you._"

"Dustin please. It will be good for her. If I try to tell her something, she'll ignore me. She won't ignore you."

He let out a dark chuckle, "I'm not so sure about that, she's been doing a pretty good job of ignoring me lately. Lilith! She doesn't want to talk to the guy that broke it off with her, she...hates me."

Lilith smacked his arm, "Don't be stupid Dustin. No matter what she says, she can never hate you."

"Why is that?"

"Because she cares about you...a lot. She just wants to give you your space so she's not all clingy or whatever. I'm not saying she wants to go out with you or anything, but I'm sure she still wants to be your friend. And that's what she needs right now, a friend."

"Have you told your mom?"

"She's been at the hospital lately, so I never got around to it. But I will, today when she gets home. This is serious. I don't know how much longer she can make it before she," Lilith shook her head, "Will you just talk to her Dustin?"

Dustin sighed, "Yeah...I'll try."

Lilith smirked and pulled him into a hug, "Thanks. I owe you."

"Of course you do."

She laughed, "Don't push it."

"Hey you guys."

Lilith and Dustin turned around to see Dirk standing there. He walked over to Lilith and kissed her and Dustin rolled his eyes as he crossed his arms over his chest, "Good to see you, bro."

"Likewise." he grabbed Lilith's hand, "Thanks for hanging out with her but I think I can take it from here."

Lilith rolled his eyes at him, "I'll see you later Dustin? And please, talk to her."

He smiled, "I will."

Lilith and Dirk started making their way down the hall when Lilith smacked his arm.

"Ouch! What was that for?" he rubbed his hit arm.

"What is your problem Dirk? Can't you see that Dustin and I are just friends?"

"I wouldn't be too sure about that."

She scoffed, "What is that supposed to mean?"

"You know what it means Lilith. That guy likes you."

"Sssh!" she said, putting a hand over her mouth as a signal to be quiet, "That's how rumors get started and you're ridiculous, Dustin does not like me. We're just, friends."

"Friends don't hang out with each other like you two do." he argued.

The bell rang but Lilith didn't care.

"Really? Because I could say a whole lot about you and Sophia hanging out all the time."

"That's different."

"Why? Because it's you?"

Silence.

"Yeah, exactly what I thought. I have to get to class." She said, ready to storm off. He grabbed her arm, "Wait! I love you Lilith."

Her face softened and she kissed him, "I love you too Dirk... Now really, I have to go. Try not to be too jealous while I'm gone," she smirked then took off to class.

He watched her walk away, a smile planted on his face. Why did he ever break up with a girl like Lilith?

* * *

During class, all Dustin could think about was what he was going to say to Angela. _What do you say to anyone in that situation? How do you even begin to approach them? They have to be going through some seriously messed up shit to feel like they just want to die...to give up on life like that._

"Dustin! Dustin!"

He looked up to see that Ivy was staring at him, "Oh, sorry. What?"

"The bell just rang, I thought maybe you'd want to get to your next class," she said, and he grabbed his bag and started making his way out the door.

"Wait, Dustin!" she called, and he turned around, "What's up?"

"I'm sorry about the whole...weed incident. I'm sorry I left it at the table, and I'm sorry I let you take the blame after finding out. It's just that...my parents think I'm doing so well and if they found out, even though I didn't use it, they wouldn't believe me, and they would make me move."

He shrugged his shoulders, "Its fine Ivy. My family thinks I'm pretty fucked up already, so it didn't change anything."

"I know I'm just...I'm really sorry," she said and then took off to her next class.

He made his way over to study hall and started talking to his friend Orlando.

"What's up man?"

He started talking about getting at Tosha Go, some new video games he got, and other pointless stuff that Dustin wasn't actually listening too. Interrupting him was the teacher who said that she was going to use the restroom, and for them to use study hall wisely.

"Hey Orlando, I'm going to go talk to someone right quick."

He nodded, "Alright bro."

Dustin felt something at the pit of his stomach as he got up and approached Angela, who was sitting with her friends Meadow and Tosha. He cleared his throat, noticing that her friends were engaging in some heavy gossip, "Uh, Angela...can I talk to you?"

Meadow seemed to stare at Dustin for the longest time. _Does he like her? I hope he doesn't like her again. Why should I care I have Randy? I'm the one who said I didn't want him but yet-_

"Meadow! Come on, let's go sit over there. He wants to talk to Angela," she said, chewing on her bubble gum and looking Dustin up and down. _His clothes are so ugly. Ever heard of Hollister or Abercrombie? Get with it! _

Dustin looked down at Angela who hadn't said a word. She didn't understand why he was here. _Why does he want to talk to me?_ Her stomach growled and she felt a pain inside her belly but she ignored it. She ran a bony finger through her hair that was starting to thin, "What do you want?"

"Get up; we're not staying for study hall."

"What do you mean?"

"We're ditching, let's go."

She contemplated telling him no but was too weak to say anything. She grabbed her bag and followed him out, and she wondered what would happen if they caught her ditching. _Why does it matter anymore? _

They found themselves at a quiet coffee shop that most of the sims went to after-school. She took a seat and watched as he ordered coffee for the two of them. Dustin handed her one, but she shook her head and pulled out her water bottle, "Trying to be healthy."

He had to stop himself from scoffing at that. He drew in a deep breath, knowing that trying to help someone who was suffering from something like that wasn't going to be easy. He looked dead into Angela eyes and started talking, "Angela...if you know anything, it's that I've been through hell and back. Watching my dad die, seeing my mom fall apart as she had to stay there for me and my brothers, and continue to raise kids. I never got any closure because they never really found out how my dad died, they only covered it up by saying it was a pool incident. I searched for years, just trying to figure out what happened. I spent years hating myself...sometimes I still do."

She stayed silent, but he could see her eyes getting watery, and he was sure it wasn't because of what he said, but because of something going on inside of her.

"Do you know what my job is?"

She shook her head.

"I never wanted to tell you because I didn't want you to see me as a criminal...but that's the kind of stuff I do. I work in the criminal career. And every day I go to work, I see someone get shot. I see someone try to get out of that life and get killed, and sometimes the people who come out they...they kill themselves, because they've already been so affected. I've been hit, almost shot...there's been a lot of crap I never wanted to see. Like an innocent child getting killed because she walked through a place that she didn't know was a gang zone."

She ran another finger through her hair, "That must be hard..."

"It is," he said, taking in deep breaths to stop himself from letting even one tear fall down his face, "But I haven't done anything crazy. I haven't tried to kill myself, or even felt like I wanted to die. So I keep wondering how a beautiful girl like you, who has everything going for her, intelligence, looks, everything...can just give up on life."

She froze for a second and he looked her dead in the eye, "I know Angela...I know that you're starving yourself ok. And that shit has to stop, right now!"

The tears started to fall down her face. Slowly at first, but then more rapidly with each second. She found herself covering her face and trying to stop her sobs. She looked up at him, "Y-you just don't get it Dustin."

"What don't I get? That you're throwing your life away! No, I don't get that. And I don't want to get that. You have to start eating again Angela, and you have to get help," he said in a soft tone.

"Who told you?"

"It doesn't matter."

"WHO TOLD YOU!" she cried, and some of the sims started to look at their table funny. When the looks died he sighed, "Lilith."

"I'm leaving," she said as she grabbed her bag and started to get up. Dustin grabbed her fragile arm, scared that he might break it, and she was too weak to fight it off, "Just tell me why Angela? Why would you do this!"

Her cries only seemed to grow harder and she took a seat at another table to calm herself. He sat down with her and waited patiently for her to start speaking.

"I know I haven't gone through as much as you Dustin...but I feel like my life is falling apart and I don't have anyone! Everyone tells me how lucky I am because I'm popular, and I have good grades, and cool friends. My friends don't even know half the things I go through. They want to talk about boys, and shopping, and every other superficial thing in the world. Lilith hates me because I'm the favorite of the house, but I have to work twice as hard to live up to my parents expectations. I went to Tosha and I told her about my parents getting a divorce and she basically said that I should be lucky that I even have parents, because most townies like her don't. And I get that...but it's like I'm not allowed to have any feelings because I have all this stuff."

"Angela-"

"I feel like...like it's my fault my parents are getting a divorce. Like I could have stopped it somehow. People keep telling me that I have no control over it and I hate that! So I went after the one thing that I could have control over. My body!" she cried, pointing to herself, "I can choose how much I want to lose. I can choose what I want in my body and I what I don't want. I may not be able to pick my life, but this is something that I can finally have."

He rubbed his eyes to stop his tears and he grabbed her hand, "Angela...I know you're going through a lot. But that doesn't mean you can starve yourself. What do you think is going to happen if you die?"

"I'll be free," she said, her voice trembling.

"And what about the people who care about you?"

"Nobody cares about me Dustin! Ok! Nobody cares!"

"Your parents care. Lilith cares...I care."

Silence.

"You have to get help."

She shook her head and bit her lip, "I-I don't know if I can do that Dustin."

His hand squeezed her pale hand, "I'll help you. I'll be there with you, when you talk to your mom but you _have_ to talk to her."

He checked his watch, "We should probably get back to school."

She nodded and grabbed her bag as they made their way out of the cafe, "Dustin."

He turned to look at her, "Yeah?"

She looked down at the floor, "Why did you do all of this? Was it because Lilith asked you too?"

He looked at her, "Not entirely."

"Then-"

"Because I still care about you."

* * *

"Alright kids. Recess time!" the teacher called and Beau made his way out with some of his friends. With Lucy being gone, he had no one fun enough to talk to. He missed his friend. He made his way with some of his guy friends and they started playing football when they saw a new girl walk by.

She walked over to them, smiling shyly, "I'm Tara, You guys playing football?"

The tallest of the group smirked, "Yeah, but no girls allowed so go over and build some sand castles or something!"

The group started to laugh but Beau pushed his way through them, "Aye! Let her play!"

"But, she's a girl!"

"I don't care...let her play." he said, staring into the new girls eyes.

She smiled at him gratefully and he smirked as he took a step closer, "I'm Beau."

"Nice to meet you."

"You may be a girl, but we won't take it easy on you." he said and she laughed, "I wouldn't have it any other way."

And with that, they started playing. Tara was an amazing runner. She was faster than half the guys that were playing and Beau knew he had made a new friend. _Tara._ He smiled, knowing he wouldn't forget her name.

* * *

_Night_

At night, Jennifer and John stayed in the hospital, watching Lucy with sadness in their eyes.

"I just can't believe this." John said in an angry tone and Jennifer looked at him with tears in her eyes, "I know John...I know."

A doctor opened the door and looked at the couple, seeming to have some information.

"What is it? Have you figured out a way to help her?" John asked, and the doctor nodded, letting out a sigh, "The only way to make this work is if someone sucked the poison out of her bite."

Silence.

Jennifer realized now what she had to do, "I'll do it. I'll suck it out of her."

"Jen! This is dangerous. What if you can't control yourself?"

Jennifer rolled her eyes, "Well do you have a better idea? It's either this or she dies."

He sighed.

"I won't hurt her John. I would never hurt my daughter."

She turned back to the doctor, "Tell us how this is going to work."


End file.
